Formerly: Rose Mont
Berryville, Virginia · Founded 2010 · Building: 1811
An 1811 Berryville manor once owned by Sen. Harry F. Byrd Sr., opened to the public as a B&B and event estate in 2010.
Historic Rosemont Manor operates at 16 Rosemont Manor Lane in Berryville, Virginia, as a lodging and events estate. George Horton Norris built the private home in 1811 as a wedding gift for Jane Bowles Wormeley, and the property remained residential through multiple ownership eras, including Harry F. Byrd Sr.'s 1929–1966 tenure. William and Barbara Genda bought and restored the estate in 2009, opening it to the public as a bed-and-breakfast and event venue in 2010.
George Horton Norris, the first High Sheriff of Clarke County, built Rose Mont as a wedding gift for his wife, Jane Bowles Wormeley.
Source: Historic Rosemont Manor, "History"; Winchester Star, "Open houses at Rosemont to help out nonprofits"
The Norris family ownership ended when a granddaughter married into the Tyson family of Baltimore. The Tysons later added the estate's Grand Portico.
Source: Historic Rosemont Manor, "History"
During the Battle of Berryville period, Rosemont's history says Northern troops assembled lines on both sides of the manor grounds and Civil War artifacts were later excavated on the property. The exact military use of the portico or house requires further documentation.
Source: Historic Rosemont Manor, "History"
New York attorney J. Low Harriman and his wife purchased Rosemont as a country home and added a large two-story guest wing.
Source: Historic Rosemont Manor, "History"
Former Virginia governor Harry F. Byrd Sr. purchased Rosemont from Anne Smith. He later served as a U.S. senator and lived at Rosemont until his death in 1966.
Source: Historic Rosemont Manor, "History"; History Behind Rosemont, "A Virginian Leader"
The Byrd family sold Rosemont to Randy and Sue Jones, who began major restoration work.
Source: Historic Rosemont Manor, "History"
William and Barbara Genda purchased Rosemont, in part to keep the estate from development.
Source: Historic Rosemont Manor, "History"; Alina Thomas Photography, "Historic Rosemont Manor Wedding Venue"
After renovations, Rosemont opened to the public for the first time in about 200 years as a bed-and-breakfast and special-events venue.
Source: Historic Rosemont Manor, "History"
Historic Rosemont Manor continues to offer manor suites, guest cottages, breakfast, weddings, and special-event accommodations.
Source: Historic Rosemont Manor, "The Manor"; Experience Clarke County, "Historic Rosemont Manor"
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Rosemont was built in 1811 as a private manor house and remained a private residence for nearly 200 years. It first opened to the public as a bed-and-breakfast and special-events venue in 2010.
Rosemont's own detailed history and local reporting identify George Horton Norris as the builder, date the manor to 1811, and state that he built it as a wedding gift for Jane Bowles Wormeley.
Rosemont's historical account identifies the 1929 purchase by Byrd and says he lived there until his 1966 death. Regional historical materials independently repeat his Rosemont ownership and political use of the property.
Rosemont, Virginia Tourism, USA Today, NBC Washington, and local visitor material consistently identify multiple presidential visitors, although the lists vary. This review did not retrieve Byrd visitor logs, White House schedules, photographs, helicopter records, correspondence, or contemporary coverage proving each named visit.
Rosemont's history places Civil War troop activity around the manor grounds and says relics have been recovered from the property. This review found no battlefield report, artillery map, officer diary, National Park Service study, or Virginia Department of Historic Resources record verifying use of the portico as an artillery observation post.
The estate's history says troop lines formed on both sides of the manor during the 1864 Battle of Berryville and that Civil War artifacts have been excavated there. The broader battle connection is credible, but detailed troop positions and the estate's exact tactical role require primary military or archaeological documentation.
Rosemont's history says William and Barbara Genda purchased the estate in 2009, and a 2018 profile identifies William Genda as the current owner. A current Clarke County deed and Virginia business record are needed to confirm the formal present ownership entity.
Historic Rosemont Manor has operated as an inn since it was built in 1811.
Rosemont was built as a private manor home in 1811 and remained residential for nearly 200 years. It opened as a bed-and-breakfast and special-events venue in 2010.
Source: Historic Rosemont Manor, "History"; Alina Thomas Photography, "Historic Rosemont Manor Wedding Venue"
Rosemont's 1811 Grand Portico was part of George Norris's original manor.
Rosemont's history says the Tyson family added the Grand Portico after the Norris era.
Source: Historic Rosemont Manor, "History"
Rosemont's portico is documented as a Civil War artillery observation post.
The estate has a credible Battle of Berryville-period connection, but this review did not locate military or archaeological documentation proving that the portico served as an artillery observation post.
Source: Historic Rosemont Manor, "History"
Rosemont survives through adaptive reuse rather than an uninterrupted inn tradition. Its owners preserved an early-19th-century manor, later additions such as the Tyson family's Grand Portico, Byrd-era political associations, and Civil War landscape connections, then made those assets central to a lodging, wedding, and special-event business.
Historic Rosemont Manor in Berryville, Virginia, was built in 1811 by George Horton Norris as a private manor home called Rose Mont. The estate later belonged to the Tyson, Harriman, Smith, and Byrd families, with U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. owning it from 1929 until his death in 1966. After William and Barbara Genda purchased and renovated it, Rosemont first opened publicly as a bed-and-breakfast and events venue in 2010.
Rosemont and several tourism and media sources say that presidents including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Lyndon Johnson visited the estate during or after Harry F. Byrd Sr.'s ownership. This review did not locate presidential schedules, visitor logs, photographs, correspondence, or contemporary news reports confirming each individual visit, so the broad presidential-guest account remains plausible rather than fully documented.
Rosemont's history says Union troop lines assembled on both sides of the manor grounds during the 1864 Battle of Berryville and that Civil War relics have been found on the property. The estate therefore has a credible battle-period connection, but this review did not find primary military evidence that its portico was used as an artillery observation post or that the house served a documented command role.
No. Rosemont's manor was built in 1811, but it was a private residence until it opened as a bed-and-breakfast and event venue in 2010. It is a historic estate now used for lodging, not an inn that has operated continuously since the early 19th century.
16 Rosemont Manor Ln, Berryville, VA 22611
(540) 955-2834
Rosemont is a reservation-based lodging, wedding, and event estate with manor suites and cottages; confirm room, dining, wedding, and seasonal availability before visiting.