The Red House Tavern
The Red House Tavern was one of several taverns and ordinaries that were established along the Carolina Road in the 18th century. It was located at the intersections of the North/South route of the Carolina Road (now Old Carolina Road) and the East/West route of the Dumfries Road (aka Thoroughfare Gap Road and now Virginia State Route 55).
The tavern became so well established that the area around it began to be called Red House.
There was a distinction in the 18th century lexicon between an ordinary and a tavern: an ordinary was a smaller establishment, usually just in a house, while a tavern was more substantial and provided better service.
The earliest reference to the Red House found so far is in a sale notice in the Virginia Gazette dated 1777 in which it is variously referred to as Tyler’s Ordinary, Red House, and Skinker’s:
Also three thousand eight hundred and thirty two acres belonging to the estate of Mrs. Anne Mercer, deceased, in the county of Fauquier, about five miles from Tyler’s ordinary (called Skinker’s, or the Red House) about forty five miles from Falmouth, and thirty from Dumfries. This land is mountainous, but exceeding fertile, reckoned equal to the best in this state for tobacco. It includes part of the Bull Run mountains; and from some [assays?] and the opinion of good judges, is supposed to contain an inexhaustible quantity of iron ore. There is a constant stream, fed by a spring that rises near the best [?] shows of ore, more than sufficient for a smelting furnace. The price of this tract may be known by applying to her executor. James Mercer. Fredericksburg. November 15, 1777.
There are also references to “the Redhouse” in travel diaries as early as 1780 and Red House was first seen as a place name on a 1787 map drawn by Thomas Jefferson.
When William Skinker petitioned the Virginia Assembly to create a town, he requested it be named “Skinkersville”. The Assembly approved a town in 1799 and, instead, called it “Hay Market”, with no explanation of the choice of name. When William Skinker died, his nephew, William Skinker, Jr. (1769-1845), inherited the Red House Tavern and he and his heirs owned it through the 1850’s. Although William Skinker owned the tavern, he did not run it. Insurance papers dated 1805 show that a man named James Wiggonton ran it and in 1827, Peyton Norvill. The same insurance papers show the tavern as a wooden building in three sections facing “main street” (current Washington Street). According to the Prince William County land tax records, from 1820 to 1840 the buildings (and two lots) owned by William Skinker were valued at $3600.00, the most valuable in the town. In 1840, the value dropped to $1,000. Although there is no note on the tax lists giving a reason for the drop in value, it may have been due to loss by fire. The value remained around $1,000 through the 1850s.
When Haymarket was burned during the Civil War, the original building was completely lost. The current building was built sometime after the Civil War at the same location but not in the same configuration as the original.
Click here to see the December 5, 1777 issue of the Virginia Gazette. The notice is located in the center column, second item from the top.
Click here to see a detail of the 1787 Thomas Jefferson map showing the (incorrect) location of "Red House."
