If you haven’t seen the Inn in a while, you will be delightfully surprised by a visit. Truly a “little bit of sunshine has come to Montross”!


A Brief Historical Overview of the Inn at Montross


Many stories and versions of the history of the Inn have been told over the years in word and in print. For many years the old Inn was believed to have been the sight of John Minor’s Pub/Ordinary. Although Mr. Minor was licensed to operate an ordinary around 1685, recent research (by others) has revealed that John Minor’s pub may have been located elsewhere—and not on the site of the present day Inn. According to Cindy Brigman Syndergaard, “the present day Inn was built around 1800, on the site of an earlier tavern from the seventeenth century. An old brick wall in the basement/pub area is believed to date to the late 1600s”. Westmoreland County’s early land records indicate that the


present site of the Inn at Montross was originally part of a twelve- hundred acre property, owned by William Averet (who forfeited the tract due to his abandonment of it). The property was subsequently granted to Thomas Dios around 1664 as payment for transporting 24 people from England to Virginia. Around 1695, records show that one-hundred ten acres, known as “the Tavern Tract” was deeded to Patrick Spence. Eighty acres of the one-hundred ten acre tract was later deeded to John Spence. Although the property has changed hands many times throughout the ages, it has continually fascinated us all and


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July/August 2011


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