The Alexander-Withrow House, ca. 1793

The Alexander-Withrow House, ca. 1793. Historic Lexington. , The Alexander-Withrow House is one of the oldest surviving structures in Lexington. Dating from ca. 1793, it was built by William Alexander one of the area’s first settlers and the town’s first postmaster. A large and distinctive building, with unusually fine brickwork, it has undergone several renovations. It was badly damaged in the 1796 fire that destroyed much of the town, but it survived. In 1851, when the city lowered its streets, this house received a whole story underpinning it. The original front doors were now on the second floor level; the Washington Street door was bricked in and the one on the Main Street opened onto a balcony. Then in 1855, the owner, George Baker, replaced the original gable roof with a stylish, Italianate, bracketed one. Over the years, the house has served various retail functions on its ground floor and residential uses on the upper floors. The Withrow family owned it from 1875 to 1969. Historic Lexington Foundation bought it in that year, stabilized the exterior, and, in 1971, sold it to Carlson and Harriet Thomas who restored the interior and opened it as a country inn. In 1978 Peter and Susan Meredith completed the restoration.