Bed and Breakfast Association of Virginia

Inn at the Crossroads

The Inn at the Crossroads was built in 1818 and registered as a National Historic Place and a Virginia Historic Landmark.  It was originally known as the Crossroads Tavern.

The Inn has served no other purpose in it's history other than as a stop for the weary traveler.  It recalls the period of the 1820's when the Inn first served as a tavern and overnight lodging for farmers and travelers using the Staunton-Jamer River turnpike and has been virtually unaltered since its construction.

Thus it gives present day guests a glimpse of how early 1800s taverns were built and what it must have been like to stay in them. Adding to the significance of the Inn at the Crossroads is the rare survival of the daybooks of C.G. Sutherland who owned and operated the tavern in the 1850s, currently kept at the Alderman Library at the University of Virginia.

One of the many entries in the daybook carefully records the number of gallons of whiskey and cider used to pay Dabney Carr, the nephew of Thomas Jefferson for rent on the property. A copy of one of Mr. Sutherland's daybooks for the year 1852 is on display at the inn.

The Inn has been deemed to be of national importance mainly because a meeting that occurred at the Inn in 1823 between Thomas Jefferson and Martin Van Buren.  But there have been many other interesting events at the Inn, including several visits by President Teddy Roosevelt when visiting his beloved Pine Knot and a 1936 speech on the Inn's front porch by Franklin Delano Roosevelt immediately prior to dedicating the George Washington National Forest.  For complete details and to learn more about the Inn and other sites of national importance visit The National Register of Historic Places at www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com