Michie Tavern ca. 1784

"Fun with the Family"

One of the oldest homesteads still standing in Virginia, this is now a restaurant with costumed hostesses who welcome you as “strangers,” the eighteenth-century term for “traveler.” The “ordinary” log cabin serves tasty fried chicken and other lunch fare at a bountiful buffet.
 
Come from April to October for Living History, when you can step to a colonial dance, write with a quill pen, and taste a tavern punch. An annual yuletide dinner gives a peek at holiday history.
 
Michie Tavern opened in 1784 as an “ordinary,” a place to dine, rest, and socialize along the stagecoach route. While gentlemen passed time in the tap room, ladies enjoyed a decorated room in which they could sew or read while waiting for the next stagecoach to arrive.
 
In 1927 the tavern was dismantled piece by piece and moved to its present location from Old Buck Mountain Road, in Northwest Albemarle, about 17 miles northwest of where it is now.
 
Behind the building are re-created dependencies, including a log kitchen, smokehouse, dairy, and a “necessary” (outhouse). Three unique shops complete the eighteenth-century experience. Kids ages 5 and under eat free with a paying adult.