About The Wayside Inn

The Wayside Inn in Middletown, Virginia offers a high-end dining experience in a historic setting. The Inn, which dates back to the 18th century, has a charming and rustic atmosphere that makes it the perfect place for a special occasion. The Inn offers 22 quest rooms with 19th century decor and private bathrooms for each. The restaurant features a variety of spaces for dining, including a formal dining room, a cozy tavern and the original property kitchen from 1746, with food prepared by our in house chef and pastry chef.

The menu at the Wayside Inn features traditional dishes with a modern twist, made with high-quality ingredients and presented with artistic flair. The culinary team is known for its delicious and creative cuisine, using fresh local ingredients to create a menu that will delight your taste buds. The Inn also offers a variety of services such as private dining and wine pairing to enhance your dining experience.

The Wayside Inn's location is also an attractive feature as it is situated in a peaceful and beautiful rural area, providing a serene atmosphere for dining. The Inn is ideal for couples, families, and groups looking for a unique and high-end dining experience in a historic setting. The Inn's staff is dedicated to making sure your dining experience is perfect and will work with you to create a customized dining package that suits your needs.

Want to read more about the Inn’s history? Continue to scroll down a little farther.

The Wayside Heritage

The Wayside history is based on service to the traveler. The first travelers to the Inn started coming in 1797, pausing for bed and board as they journeyed across the Shenandoah Valley. The Wayside was then known as Wilkenson’s Tavern. Twenty years later when rugged highways were hacked out of the wilderness the Valley Pike (now Route 11) came through Middletown. The tavern became a stagecoach stop, a relay station where fresh horses were readied, and where bounce-weary passengers could refresh themselves while taking a much-needed rest.

In stage coaching days, a servant boy would be sent to the nearby hill to sight an expected stagecoach. When a cloud of dust appeared over the horizon, the servant waited anxiously, straining to sight the outline of the stagecoach, and then hurried back to the Inn to report its approach. By the time the passengers arrived, delicious hot food would be waiting for them to dine and drink in comfort while the team of horses was being changed.

During the Civil War, soldiers from both the North and South frequented the Inn in search of refuge and friendship. Serving both sides in this devastating conflict, the Inn offered comfort to all who came and thus was spared the ravages of the war, even though Stonewall Jackson’s famous Valley Campaign swept past only a few miles away. With the much changing hands of the war, the inn survived unscathed due to the readiness of the day’s victor controlling the inn that day.

Jacob Larrick bought the Inn after the war, changing the name to Larrick’s Hotel. In the early part of the 20th century, it was again sold. The new owners, Maggie & Samuel Rhodes, added a third floor, wings on each side, and established a new name, The Wayside Inn. In the next few years, as pot-holed pikes were transformed into paved roads, and automobiles began touring the Valley, the Inn proclaimed itself “America’s First Motor Inn.”

In the 1960’s a Washington financier and antique collector, with a restless enthusiasm for new projects, and a fascination with Americana, purchased the Inn. He energetically restored and refurbished it with hundreds of antiques, decorating each of the rooms with its own unique flavor.

In the fall of 1985, a devastating fire almost gutted the structure, but with care the Inn has been restored for your continued use.

Thus, the Inn has been able to retain its 18th Century atmosphere, where the charm of an older era blends with the wonders of the new, in a setting of natural beauty, unmarred by time.

Color images to the right are of old post cards of the Inn and the black/white is Main Street Looking South from 1905.