Bedingfield Inn
Lumpkin, Stewart County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Bedingfield Inn. The Bedingfield Inn or Tavern was constructed on this site in 1836 by Dr. Bryan N. Bedingfield as a family residence and stagecoach stop. It was a center for commercial and community activities and a one day's travel from Columbus, Fort Gaines, Americus, and Eufaula, Alabama. Also known as the "Harrell House," "Cuba House" and "Ard House," it continued as a hotel or boarding house into the 1930's. In 1965, it was purchased by the Stewart County Historical Commission and restored as an 1840 house museum. ERECTED BY THE HISTORIC CHATTAHOOCHEE COMMISSION AND THE STEWART COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1980
Erected by Historic Chattahoochee Commission
The Story
Built in 1836 by Dr. Bryan N. Bedingfield as a family home and stagecoach stop, this inn stood a day's travel from Columbus, Americus, Fort Gaines, and Eufaula, making it a hub of commerce and community life. Known over the years by several family names, it served as a hotel or boarding house into the 1930s before being restored as an 1840s house museum.
Why it matters
As a surviving stagecoach-era tavern, Bedingfield Inn preserves the rhythms of overland travel in the antebellum South, when a day's ride between towns made such stops the crossroads of frontier Georgia.
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Related people
- ยท Bryan N. Bedingfield
Themes & tags
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