Michie Tavern has welcomed travelers for more than 200 years. Imagine arriving by horseback, on foot or by coach. The rooms would be thick with the scent of cooked venison and tobacco. Voices, some raised in heated political debate, would carry from room to room. As you cross the threshold of old Michie's Tavern you enter another time. Our costumed hostess welcomes you into the past as "Stranger," an early 18th-century term for a traveler.
Much like the 18th-century visitor, I enjoyed homemade southern fare based on recipes from the period. After hearty meal, a "taste" of the past lingers while my tour through the Tavern-Museum. This is where your 18th-century counterpart came to dine and socialize.
Taverns served not only as a place to eat, drink and sleep, but also as the center of the community.
As I climb the stairs to the second floor and enter the Assembly Room. This large, sunlit room once served as a ballroom, makeshift school room, a place for worship and for extra sleeping accommodations. The other rooms on tour, including the elaborately decorated Ladies' Parlor, also served many purposes.
After touring the Tavern, guests may continue their tour through various outbuildings and then down a winding path through the woods which leads to the Meadow Run Mill and General Store.
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