Yes, I know that we are too young to have been married for 55 years, but facts are facts. We celebrated our anniversary by having dinner at the Old South Mountain Inn near Boonsboro, MD. I don't know who the old man sitting next to the pretty young lady is, but she still looks great.
Barbara & Henry drove up from North Carolina for the Sunday celebration of Lexa being part of the family. They arrived at the cabin in time to take the picture above of the old couple.
The following is taken from the Inn's website and shows the history of the Inn very well.
Founded as early as 1732,
the inn has seen history. In 1755 it is probable that General Edward Braddock,
accompanied by the young Lt. George Washington, marched his army past on
the way to his fatal encounter with the French and Indians near Fort Duquesne.
By the late 1700ís pioneers
had begun to roll steadily through Turners Gap on the National Trail to
settle the land to the west. The South Mountain Inn uniquely served as
a wagon stand as well as a stagecoach stop for the heavy traffic passing
on the National Road after it was surfaced in the 1820ís. In the years
that followed, the inn was visited by many Washington leaders, including
Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, and several Presidents. For Clay and Webster
particularly, it was a favorite resting spot. Clay was often called the
father of the National Road; the road itself was sometimes termed the Henry
Clay Road.
During the Civil War period,
South Mountain Inn was a part of two pivotal events, the John Brown Road
on Harpers Ferry, and the Antietam Campaign. In 1859 the inn was captured
and held overnight as an outpost and probable staging point by Brown's
followers. Three years later it was the headquarters of Confederate Gen.
D.H. Hill during the Battle of South Mountain, prelim to the Battle of
Antietam.
Following the Civil War,
the business of the tavern declined, due in large part to the reduced importance
of the National Road as the railroads spread across the mountains. The
property was sold in 1876 to Madeline Vinton Dahlgren, wealthy widow of
Admiral John A. Dahlgren. The South Mountain House became a private residence,
improved with attention to the antiquity of the building. Mrs. Dahlgren
also built the stone Dahlgren Chapel, which is open to the public on summer
weekends. NOTE.. Larry Jr & Jane were married in the Dahlgren Chapel in 2006.
The house once again became
a tavern in 1925 and continued as a local pub until its purchase in 1971
by Charles and Dorothea Reichmuth, who offered visitors a setting of historical
authenticity, gracious hospitality, and good eating.
In 1981, Russell and Judy
Schwartz purchased the Inn from The Reichmuths and offered American fine
dining with an elegant Colonial atmosphere.
Then in 2001, the Inn was
purchased by the Executive Chef and his wife, Chad and Lisa Dorsey, who
are the present owners of the Inn.
For over 250 years The Old
South Mountain Inn has remained a remarkable mainstay in an ever changing
world.
Happiness too you both.
ReplyDeleteLinda and Sherwin