The History of the Ivy Inn Restaurant

The Ivy Inn, located one mile from the University of Virginia, was once part of a larger estate named “Faulkner House “ after  William Faulkner, a Southern aristocrat and distinguished University “writer in residence.”  In 1815, a fire destroyed the original Inn, which was built in the early 1700’s.  A year later Jesse Pittman Lewis rebuilt the estate, adding several outbuildings including the present structure which now houses the Ivy Inn Restaurant.  The kitchen, located in the back of the house, was formerly a tollhouse where weary travelers rested from their journeys between Richmond and Staunton.  The University later acquired the several outbuildings and the Faulkner estate for guest housing and dining facilities.  In 1893 the house was sold for only $3000 to James Kiblin, who was also granted 11 ¼ acres as part of the bill of sale.  In 1901 it was sold to William H. Barlow, an attorney and engineer from England.  The Barlow family owned the property until 1939 when William’s youngest son sold it to a University of Virginia professor of biology.  Between 1940 and 1965 the house sold two more times and in 1973 the Ivy Inn restaurant was established in order to provide the community and visitors with a richly historical and elegant atmosphere for dining.