A Historic Past

The property was originally purchased in 1742 by Colonel John Lewis. In 1747, his son Fielding Lewis and his new bride Catharine Washington (first cousin to George Washington) moved to 1201 Princess Anne Street, the house directly across the street to The Kenmore Inn. In the January of 1750, Catherine died, leaving an infant son behind. Later that year, Fielding married Betty Washington, the only sister of George Washington. Fielding then built for his new bride the mansion, now known as the “Kenmore Plantation”, on the brow of a hill several blocks away. The lot of the Kenmore Inn was sold in 1776 to the William Champe Carter family.

Unmarried, 48-year-old Rebecca Lomax completes construction of the current building. She lives in the house for the next 32 years with her unmarried sisters, Catherine (Kitty) and Ellen.

Property purchased from the Lomax estate by Thomas Fitzhugh Knox. Knox lives in the home with his wife Virginia, and their eight children.

War arrives. All six Knox sons fight for the Confederacy: Robert Taylor, Thomas Stuart, James Soutter, Samuel Gordon, Alexander Bell and Douglas Hamilton.

The Knox women – mother Virginia and daughters Virginia Ann Soutter and Mary Campbell – leave town after the Union army arrives, while patriarch Thomas remains at home to protect the family home and business.

In April, the Knox’s return to a home with “thirteen or more immense shell holes in it” and all the windows broken. Virginia Knox “tacked bleached cotton over the windows for temporary use…”

After over 40 years and four generations of ownership, the Knox family sells the property.

The building is purchased by James T. Horton, who adds a rear wing and a garage in the basement.

The Kenmore Inn opens for business. More than 2,000 people attended a celebratory open house.

The Kenmore Lodge, as it was then known, was slated for demolition due to the gradual decline of the downtown tourist industry. The lot was considered for the construction of what is today lovingly known as “The Big Ugly” –the multi-story Executive Office Building on Caroline Street, the building was saved after public outcry denounced the demolition plans.

Edward and Alice Bannan purchased the Kenmore Inn in 1986 and added the Kenmore Pub in 1988, the Sunken Patio Garden and Garden Room in 1989.

In 2001, Rob Alling, the current owner of the Kenmore Inn, purchased the business. After several stages of renovations, the grounds and structure are in pristine condition with a full bar and restaurant on the garden level, dining and common spaces on the main level, and nine guest rooms upstairs. We hope you enjoy our hospitality and will take the opportunity to look around the Inn and our beautiful city. Fredericksburg is filled with homes, artifacts and historic sites that date from the period of revolutionary war struggles that forged our great nation.