An Ordinary on the Road to Snell

An Ordinary on the Road to Snell. Spotsylvania Court House National Historic District. , The exact date of the building of the Ordinary on the road from Fredericksburg to Snell is a mystery. The earliest date we can attribute is 1770. It may have existed prior, but unproven by current evidence. In 1799, the property and Ordinary, which over time would be called the "Tavern Tract" was owned by John Herndon. Herndon sold the property and 325 acres surrounding it to John F. Alsop and Alsop's brother-in-law, Thomas Hicks Sr. Hicks also operated an ordinary established in 1781 at the County Courthouse on the Po River., John F. Alsop died suddenly in 1810 without a will, and the property reverted to his father, Samuel Alsop Sr. Samuel Alsop Jr. acquired the property from his father, brothers and sister-in-law Lucy Alsop Hicks. He continued to purchase additional tracts in the vicinity and would eventually amass 1,034 acres., From 1799, until the sale of the Ordinary in 1836, Alsop's Tavern was known for its "private" entertainment and dining. Samuel, as part of the sale, reserved a small tract of land as a "burying ground," where his wife Dorothea rested. Later in 1856, Samuel Alsop would build Berea Church on the site and after passing in 1859 at age 83, would join Dorothea in the "burying ground"., [Captions:] , Alsop held horse races on a regular basis. A $150 purse was quite a sum of money in this 1834 advertisement in the Virginia Herald., Alsop's Ordinary license in 1829 promised there would be no unlawful gaming on Sunday or allow any person to tipple and drink more than was necessary., Alsop would decide to sell his tavern in 1836. The lising in the Virginia Herald enticed Lewis Rawlings to purchase it., In the 1700's, an Ordinary was a lodging site that served regular meals.