Heathsville in Northumberland County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Rice’s Hotel / Hughlett’s Tavern

Photographed By J. J. Prats, August 30, 2009

1. Rice’s Hotel / Hughlett’s Tavern Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Originally known as Hughlett’s Tavern, this building, located behind the courthouse, served visitors to court for more than 150 years. John Hughlett erected the original portion of the tavern before 1795. Griffin H. Foushee, who purchased it in 1824, significantly enlarged it. John Rice, bought it in 1866 and the Rice family enlarged the building and operated it as a hotel until the 1920s when they converted it to apartments. Donated to the Northumberland County Historical Society by the Rice family in 1990, Rice’s Hotel / Hughlett’s Tavern is one of the few surviving structures of its type in Virginia.

Erected 1998 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number O-60.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1795.

Location. 37° 55.063′ N, 76° 28.349′ W. Marker is in Heathsville, Virginia, in Northumberland County. Marker is on Northumberland Highway (U.S. 360)

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just west of Courthouse Road (Virginia Route 201), on the right when traveling east. Marker is in front of the courthouse. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Heathsville VA 22473, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. World War I Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Freedom for Slaves of Robert Carter III (a few steps from this marker); Korean and Vietnam Wars Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Northumberland County Confederate Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); World War II Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Northumberland County Jail (within shouting distance of this marker); Northumberland Courthouse Square (within shouting distance of this marker); St. Stephen’s Parish (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Heathsville.

Also see . . . RHHT History. “Like other courthouse taverns in Virginia during the colonial era and later, patrons came because of the proximity of the courthouse. When the court sat at Northumberland’s courthouse, across the road from RHHT, judges, lawyers and their clients, court clerks, sequestered jurors, and, members of the press sought food, drink, and shelter at the nearby tavern. When the tavern expanded into a hotel in the 1830s, transients continued to come, along with traveling salesmen, teamsters, steamboat passengers, and truck drivers. Leila

Photographed By J. J. Prats, August 30, 2009

2. Rice’s Hotel / Hughlett’s Tavern Marker

Palmer Sandy, whose aunt Leila Palmer Rice and her husband, J. G. Rice, Sr., were proprietors of the hotel from 1909 until the mid‑1930s, remembers visiting the hotel as a child. ‘Most of my aunt’s guests were traveling salesmen,’ she says. ‘As a rule local people did not go to the hotel for meals. My aunt catered mostly to traveling people.’ ” (Submitted on September 24, 2009.)

Additional keywords. RHHT

Rice’s Hotel / Hughlett’s Tavern image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, August 30, 2009

3. Rice’s Hotel / Hughlett’s Tavern

Virginia and National Registers signage for the hotel-tavern building image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), July 4, 2021

4. Virginia and National Registers signage for the hotel-tavern building

Northumberland County Courthouse image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, August 30, 2009

5. Northumberland County Courthouse

The Hotel / Tavern is directly behind the courthouse.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 5, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 24, 2009, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,677 times since then and 67 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 24, 2009, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 4. submitted on July 5, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 5. submitted on September 24, 2009, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.