The Elmwood Inn in Perryville, Kentucky is a historic building which served as a mansion, a battlefield hospital in 1862, as an academy during 1891–1925, and later as a restaurant and as a tea house, and then again as a private residence. Its facade illustrates tins of tea and recipe books distributed under the banner of the Elmwood Inn Fine Teas company. Built in 1842 by local merchant John Burton, the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

mansion was used as a makeshift hospital during the 1862 Battle of Perryville in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The handsome building served as a boarding school, the Elmwood Academy, from 1896 until 1924 under the care of headmaster Thomas Poynter. Elmwood was rescued by preservationists in 1974. It was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as a contributing building in the Perryville Historic District in 1973, and it was designated as a

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

by Governor Wendell Ford. It served as a regional restaurant until 1989. Noted guests during that time included

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and KFC founder Colonel Harland Sanders. The inn was transformed into one of America's best-known tea houses in 1990 under the ownership of Bruce and Shelley Richardson. In 2002, Elmwood Inn was named by the UK Tea Council as the first American tea room to be included in their prestigious publication "Best Tea Places." Elmwood closed to the public in 2004 and the grand house is now a private residence. Elmwood Inn Fine Teas began importing, blending and packaging specialty teas in 1993 and now supplies teas to tea rooms, restaurants and gift shops in every state. Elmwood Inn's publishing division, Benjamin Press, is the publisher of over 17 books, mainly on the subject of tea. The Elmwood Inn Fine Teas and Benjamin Press offices, blending and packaging operation is located at 135 North Second Street in Danville, Kentucky. A tea shop for retail and wholesale customers is located in that downtown facility. With . The Elmwood Inn building was the Elmwood Academy from 1891 to 1925, built c.1850, served as a hospital in the Battle of Perryville.

References

External links

Elmwood Inn Fine Teas website
Houses in Boyle County, Kentucky 1842 establishments in Kentucky Historic district contributing properties in Kentucky Greek Revival architecture in Kentucky Schools in Boyle County, Kentucky Houses completed in 1842 Tea houses National Register of Historic Places in Boyle County, Kentucky {{BoyleCountyKY-NRHP-stub