Smoky Ordinary is an unincorporated area in Brunswick County, Virginia.[1]

The ordinary that stood on this site catered to travelers on the north-south stage road as early as 1750. During the American Revolution local warehouses were burned by British Colonel Tarleton,[2] and legend says that it was from that occurrence that the ordinary derived its name.

During the Civil War the post office (1832-1964) and inn were spared when a Union officer recognized the inn's owner, Dr. George M. Raney, as being a former classmate at the University of Pennsylvania.[3]

History

"Ordinary" is sometimes used to refer to a tavern or a place where food is sold to the public.[4] The name of this location was sometimes spelled as "Smokey Ordinary".[1] A post office called Smokey Ordinary was established in 1832, and remained in operation until 1964.[5] The town's first name was "Ordinary", but after it burned during the Revolutionary War, the name was prefixed with "Smok(e)y".[6]

References

  1. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Smoky Ordinary
  2. ↑ The origins of unusual place-names. Keystone Pub. Associates. 1958.
  3. ↑ "Smoky Ordinary Historical Marker".
  4. ↑ The origins of unusual place-names. Keystone Pub. Associates. 1958.
  5. ↑ "Post Offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  6. ↑ Moyer, Armond; Moyer, Winifred (1958). The origins of unusual place-names. Keystone Pub. Associates. p. 121.

36°49′44″N 77°44′17″W / 36.8287594°N 77.7380468°W / 36.8287594; -77.7380468


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