Now known as Rice's Hotel / Hughlett's Tavern, this "courthouse tavern" was built in stages between the late 1700s and the mid-19th century. Throughout the years, this historic Northern Neck landmark has served as in inn, a tavern, a hotel, apartments, and business offices. The structure is located at Heathsville,

Northumberland County, Virginia Northumberland County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 11,839. Its county seat is Heathsville. The county is located on the Northern Neck and is part of the Northern Neck George Washin ...

. It is a two-story, frame building with a 12-bay front and two-tier wooden

piazza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

and

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

style interior. It is perhaps the largest traditional tavern in any Virginia town east of Fredericksburg and north of Gloucester Court House. The building closed in the late 1970s, and was subsequently donated to the Northumberland County Historical Society. It was listed 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 ...

in 1992. It is located in the Heathsville Historic District at 73 Monument Place, located behind the old Northumberland Courthouse. Today, Rice's Hotel / Hughlett's Tavern is operated by an all-volunteer foundation, Rice's Hotel / Hughlett's Tavern Foundation Inc., and has become a major tourist attraction. It is home to four artisan guilds: the Blacksmith Guild, the Quilt Guild, the Woodworkers Guild, and the Spinners & Weavers Guild. The Tavern houses the "Heritage Arts Center Gift Shoppe, which sells the guilds' output, plus wares made by over 70 other local artists and artisans. A portion of the building also includes the Tavern Café, which is entirely run by the volunteers of the Tavern's new Culinary Guild. The gift shoppe and café are open Thursday thru Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Tavern Foundation also offers heritage arts classes in such traditional skills as blacksmithing, weaving, spinning, quilting, woodworking, and basket-making. Rice's Hotel / Hughlett's Tavern sponsors the Heathsville Farmers Market on the third Saturday, April thru October, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

References

Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Hotel buildings completed in 1795 Federal architecture in Virginia Greek Revival architecture in Virginia Buildings and structures in Northumberland County, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Northumberland County, Virginia Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia {{NorthumberlandCountyVA-NRHP-stub