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.