Another Image of Surratt Tavern circa Early 1900s

[L Verge]

(04-14-2016 04:43 PM)PaigeBooth Wrote:  Fascinating picture. I was not familiar with that one. This thread reminded me of an old picture of Surratt Tavern I found while researching months ago. I have meant to ask Laurie if it is an authentic picture or not.

This picture was taken in 1915.

Right now, I'm not remembering ever seeing this particular view of the house. It's definitely Surratt House, but I'm not seeing the kitchen wing. There may be a glimpse of it off the back corner of the gable end that's facing us, but it's not where it should be.

From what the restoration architect could detect, Mrs. Surratt's kitchen burned about 1868 or so and was then rebuilt. Another fire occurred during WWII, and that dilapidated one is what we acquired when restoration began. It was torn down (easier to rebuild than to restore), and we then raised funds later to rebuild it. That story-and-a-half structure takes up about half of the gable end and should be seen in this photo -- unless the kitchen built in the late-1800s was placed somewhat differently. But, we only found one foundation, one hearth, one set of builder's trenches, and one cellar (which was a surprise).

I'll try to remember to check our photos.