This is the Colonial Inn in Hillsborough, North Carolina.

The Colonial Inn in the mid-20th century. Photo courtesy Historic Hillsborough Commission

QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK ABOUT THE COLONIAL INN:

Where exactly is the Colonial Inn located?

The Colonial Inn is located at 153 West King Street in the center of the historic town of Hillsborough, North Carolina (population 5,446). King Street is the old east-west artery through Hillsborough, and it intersects the main north-south street, Churton Street, which still leads north to Virginia as Route 86. Hillsborough was founded in 1754 as the seat of Orange County in the approximate geographic center of the state. A true crossroads, it can be accessed from the Raleigh-Durham area via the old Route 70, or by the Hillsborough exits off Interstates 85 and 40 at their intersections with Route 86.

In much earlier times, Hillsborough was known as Occaneechi, a Native American village located on the Eno River, and also on the Great Trading Path leading from Petersburg, VA to Salisbury, NC and Georgia beyond. From colonial times the town was a hub of activity centered around the County Court House and associated law offices. Although a number of fine houses were built on large lots in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Hillsborough also accommodated numerous visitors and travelers at taverns, ordinaries and inns. The best surviving representative of these is the Colonial Inn.

How colonial is the Colonial Inn?

It isn't. The Colonial Inn was built in 1838, and even though its reputed date of origin had crept ever earlier in local lore, it was the first inn built on its King Street site in the Federal, not colonial, era. The date on its current sign of 1759 is therefore a product of the mystique this building has held in the local imagination - a mystique that is still responsible for the strong affection all who know it seem bound to share. The Colonial Inn was not even the name by which it was always known.

By what names has the Colonial Inn been known in the past?

When the Inn was built in 1838 by Isaiah Spencer it was known as Spencer's Tavern. It was also later known as the Orange Hotel, then Strayhorn's Hotel (around 1870), Occoneechee Hotel (1888-1908), and Corbinton Inn (1908-24), until it was given the name of "Colonial Inn" by W.L. Foushee in 1924. Serving variously as a boarding residence, tourist hotel and dining facility the Colonial Inn had its period of greatest flourishing from 1946 to 1969, and thereby its reputation as a public meeting place with an appealing style and atmosphere that attracted visitors in droves.

What characterizes the Inn's architectural style and appearance?

As can be seen in the twentieth-century postcard image above, the Colonial Inn has a two-story, nine-bay facade striking for its balcony over the whole length of the front porch, both of which are supported by handsome paired columns. The porch, it can be seen, actually spans the original stone sidewalk, thereby reaching out and mingling its welcome with the public space of the streetscape. Other salient architectural features are the original massive brick twin chimneys built of Flemish bond with stacked stone foundations on the east side of the building, one on either side of the gable end.

Various renovations account for the west wing, rear ell, and several other additions, including a banquet hall. Decorative features and additions include the sawn work on the balustrade, double eve brackets, and window frames. The second story balcony and window frames are associated with a well-known designer who also worked (around 1889) on other properties in Hillsborough, Jule Korner of Kernersville, NC. Known for his elaborate and sometimes whimsical features, Korner changed the windows to two-over-two with rounded arch window frames and pointed arch architraves. These same window frames may also be seen on a number of houses on King Street and around Hillsborough. Thus, the Colonial Inn we see today is a product of changing times and tastes. The original Greek Revival columns of the single story porch, and six-over-six windows seen in old photographs were updated to the elegant and harmonious facade that characterizes the Inn today.

Why is the Colonial Inn important to Hillsborough?

The King Street neighborhood around the Colonial Inn still typifies an early North Carolina town, with brick store fronts to the west of the Inn and residences dating from the eighteenth century, an eighteenth century law office, a Masonic Hall and several elegant houses including the Inn at Teardrops just to the west, and Twin Chimneys, one of Hillsborough's most interesting houses architecturally and historically, across the street. With the Court House on East King Street at the corner of Churton it is easy to see why the clientele were within easy reach of the Inn when on court business. The Inn and its surroundings epitomize the early life and pursuits of a small but relatively worldly and engaged Carolina town.


1890s view looking east. Photo courtesy Historic Hillsborough Commission

The local significance of the Colonial Inn is difficult to gauge until one starts talking to individuals who over the years have gone to a reception there or had Sunday dinner in the lively atmosphere of the main dining room. Others lived at the Inn for periods of time, or frequented the lobby to pass the time of day. Yet others remember the Sunday brunches with traditional southern specialties served as the norm. I remember noting that a chicken dinner that included white meat was fifty cents extra. There are also those who have only known the building as a presence, a powerful and aesthetically pleasing presence in a changing town. Just stopping to admire its stately facade instills a sense of pride in residents, or walking in the cool shade of its porch spanning the sidewalk a palpable reflection of one's closeness to the generations of the community that shared this simple pleasure.

Why is the Inn noteworthy within North Carolina?

One of the Carolina Inn's claims to notoriety is its renovator/ designer of the late nineteenth century, Jule Korner. "Korner's Folly," the designer's house in Kernersville, is a popular tourist attraction and his reputation is roundly supported by such projects as those found in and around Hillsborough. But the Inn is also a stolid reminder of life in towns all around the state in the nineteenth century, when traveling entailed hardships that could be alleviated by a comfortable place to rest and a good, or even not-so-good, meal.


Dining room of the Colonial Inn. News and Observer, Sunday, October 6, 1968.

It is typical of a functional kind of building found around the state and notable for its ubiquity rather than its uniqueness. The Colonial Inn was built to function in relation to the county buildings and businesses in Hillsborough, as were other inns in county seats. The Colonial Inn has found a multiplicity of other uses by visitors and people of all social stations and professions around the state. Unfortunately these inns are fast disappearing, and although some have been restored, converted to residences or opened as tourist attractions, they remain a vanishing breed. We might even think of the Colonial Inn as a rare survivor!

What are the Colonial Inn's most memorable associations, and, Who really slept here?

George Washington did not sleep here, nor did General Cornwallis, as some would like to believe. But stories about the Colonial Inn abound in local families. Out of town visitors stand across the street from the Inn and reminisce on memorable times they experienced there long ago, although these personal recollections are not likely to have made the headlines. The one thing that stirs up old associations in encounters with people who learn that you live in Hillsborough is mention of the Colonial Inn. Just why the place has such a hold on the memory and the imagination is somewhat of a mystery, but it remains a fact nonetheless.


Early 1900s postcard: "I guess you have not forgotten this place." Courtesy of the Historical Foundation of Hillsborough and Orange County.

On the other hand, one famous story that resonates, especially as the makeup of the town's population continues to diversify, is of the wife of the innkeeper Henry Stroud who had to deal with the looting of the Inn by the Union army during the War Between the States. Her husband belonged to the Order of Masons, and when faced with Union soldiers who were carrying off all the furnishings of the Inn she waved her husband's Masonic apron out a window for the Union officer in charge to see. Wonderfully, all the furnishings were promptly restored and the building left undamaged.

The Inn's architectural and cultural importance for the town drew the interest of the late historian, Mary Claire Engstrom, who in the 1960's recognized its importance in the overall makeup of the town, and with Catherine Bishir succeeded in a nomination of Hillsborough's Historic District to the National Register of Historic places in 1972. The Colonial Inn is representative of the buildings that inspired these concerned preservationists to take action - and to succeed.


1980s postcard, caption on reverse: "Famous for its Old South Cooking and Southern Hospitality 16 rooms--call for reservations." Courtesy of the Historical Foundation of Hillsborough and Orange County.

Who is the current owner of the Colonial Inn?

The Inn's current owner is Francis Henry, who bought it in 2002.

Is the Colonial Inn protected?

This is a frequently asked question, in view of the Colonial Inn's current sorry appearance. It is protected from demolition by human agency through the "demolition by neglect" ordinance pertaining to properties within the Historic District of Hillsborough. The Town Board handles citations or claims regarding demolition by neglect.

The Colonial Inn is a contributing property in the Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as it applies to the town of Hillsborough. Guidelines that apply to all properties/residences in the Historic District therefore also apply to the Colonial Inn. This designation is primarily honorific rather than functional in ensuring preservation of a district or building.

The Colonial Inn is listed as a North Carolina State Landmark, although it is unclear what implications this has for any active efforts to preserve the building.

How can I learn more about the history and architecture of the Colonial Inn?

Although it is mentioned and illustrated in many books about North Carolina architecture and Orange County history and buildings, a good way to learn more and to note relevant bibliography is the following article:

"The Colonial Inn: Its History and Significance," by Cathleen Turner, in The Hillsborough Historical Society Journal, Vol 7, No. 1, pp. 99-107. (available for $3:00 at the Orange County Historical Museum, and at the Hillsborough Visitor's Center in downtown Hillsborough)

For more on Historic Hillsborough see the website for the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough: www.historichillsborough.org

Revised June 2008