Formerly: Chinn's Ordinary · Beveridge House · Middleburg Inn
Middleburg, Virginia · Founded 1728 · Building: historic fabric includes 18th- and 19th-century phases
A multigenerationally run Middleburg inn with a hospitality lineage traced to Chinn's Ordinary in 1728 and a Civil War-era Confederate hospital history.
The Red Fox Inn & Tavern traces its hospitality lineage to Joseph Chinn's 1728 ordinary in what is now downtown Middleburg. Over time, the property was known as the Beveridge House and Middleburg Inn before becoming the Red Fox Inn & Tavern in 1937. The Reuter family has owned and stewarded the inn since 1976.
Local and inn histories trace the property’s hospitality lineage to Joseph Chinn's Chinn's Ordinary, a tavern and stopping point on an early travel route through the Virginia Piedmont.
Source: The Red Fox Inn & Tavern, "Our History"; Middleburg Life, "New & Noteworthy Tastes at Middleburg's Most Historic Inn" (2016)
The former Chinn's Ordinary was expanded, renamed the Beveridge House, and reported to have added 35 guest rooms and a wine cellar.
Source: Middleburg Life, "New & Noteworthy Tastes at Middleburg's Most Historic Inn" (2016); Party Rental Ltd., "A Study In Fall Velvet" (2019)
During the Civil War, the Beveridge House was used by Confederate officers and also served as a hospital for Confederate soldiers, according to Middleburg historical reporting.
Source: Middleburg Life, "New & Noteworthy Tastes at Middleburg's Most Historic Inn" (2016)
The establishment was renamed the Middleburg Inn and returned to its lodging and dining role after the Civil War.
Source: Middleburg Life, "New & Noteworthy Tastes at Middleburg's Most Historic Inn" (2016); Middleburg Life, "Perfect Weekend Getaway Plan for the History Lover" (2016)
Investors purchased the property, preserved it from possible demolition, and renamed it The Red Fox Inn & Tavern.
Source: Middleburg Life, "New & Noteworthy Tastes at Middleburg's Most Historic Inn" (2016); Party Rental Ltd., "A Study In Fall Velvet" (2019)
Nancy and Frederick Turner Reuter purchased The Red Fox Inn & Tavern, beginning the family’s multigenerational stewardship.
Source: The Red Fox Inn & Tavern, "Our History"; Middleburg Life, "All In The Family Red Fox Inn & Tavern" (2017)
Matilda Reuter Engle joined the family stewardship and later became a third-generation leader of the inn.
Source: The Red Fox Inn & Tavern, "Our Legacy"; Middleburg Life, "All In The Family Red Fox Inn & Tavern" (2017)
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The inn has a strong reported hospitality lineage to Chinn's Ordinary in 1728 and is widely described as one of Virginia's oldest inns. This review did not establish uninterrupted operation across every ownership and name change, resolve conflicting accounts of the present building’s construction, or defeat older national contenders. The national title remains unresolved.
The Red Fox and local Middleburg accounts repeat that a young George Washington visited or stayed at Chinn's Ordinary while surveying for Lord Fairfax. The review did not locate a dated Washington diary entry, survey record, or other primary documentation that specifically identifies the ordinary as his lodging place.
Middleburg historical reporting identifies the then-Beveridge House as a Confederate headquarters/officers’ base and hospital for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. The sources reviewed do not establish every specific general, meeting, or date sometimes attached to that story.
The inn has a modern haunted reputation, but the review did not independently establish the identities of a Civil War nurse or night watchman, the origin date of the stories, or a documented paranormal event. The ghost claims should be presented as folklore.
Nancy and Frederick Turner Reuter purchased the inn in 1976. Current and local reporting identifies second- and third-generation Reuter family stewardship, including Matilda Reuter Engle.
The Red Fox Inn & Tavern has carried its current name since 1728.
The institution’s reported 1728 origin was Chinn's Ordinary. It later became the Beveridge House, then the Middleburg Inn, before investors adopted The Red Fox Inn & Tavern name in 1937.
Source: Middleburg Life, "New & Noteworthy Tastes at Middleburg's Most Historic Inn" (2016); Middleburg Life, "Perfect Weekend Getaway Plan for the History Lover" (2016)
The current Red Fox stone building was entirely built in 1728.
The 1728 date identifies the reported Chinn's Ordinary hospitality lineage. Published sources conflict over the construction history of the present stone structure and describe nineteenth-century building phases, additions, and remodeling.
Source: The Red Fox Inn & Tavern, "Our History"; Wikipedia summary of National Register placard information; Oldest.org, "10 Oldest Bars that Ever Existed in America"
George Washington's overnight stay at Chinn's Ordinary is documented.
Washington's visit or stay is repeated in local and venue histories, but the reviewed record did not locate a contemporaneous document specifically identifying Chinn's Ordinary as his lodging place.
Source: The Red Fox Inn & Tavern historical materials; Middleburg Life, "Perfect Weekend Getaway Plan for the History Lover" (2016)
The Red Fox survives because it became embedded in Middleburg’s changing identity—from an early travel stop to a Civil War-era institutional building to a Hunt Country inn. The Reuter family’s preservation-focused stewardship since 1976 has given the property continuity as a working place to stay and dine, while its history attracts guests beyond the equestrian world.
The Red Fox Inn & Tavern traces its history to Chinn's Ordinary, a Middleburg tavern and stopping point reported to have been established in 1728. The property later operated as the Beveridge House and the Middleburg Inn before investors renamed it The Red Fox Inn & Tavern in 1937. The Reuter family has owned and stewarded the inn since 1976.
The Red Fox Inn & Tavern is widely regarded as one of Virginia's oldest operating inns because its hospitality lineage is traced to Chinn's Ordinary in 1728. The evidence reviewed does not establish a complete uninterrupted operating record across all name and ownership changes or a full comparison with every Virginia rival, so a definitive oldest-in-Virginia title should remain unresolved.
Local and inn histories say that George Washington visited or stayed at Chinn's Ordinary in 1748 while surveying for Lord Fairfax. This review did not locate a contemporaneous Washington diary, survey record, or lodging document that specifically names the ordinary, so the stay remains a plausible local tradition rather than a documented fact.
This review did not identify an earliest reliable published report that The Red Fox Inn was haunted. Modern ghost-tour stories link the inn to Civil War-era spirits, but they do not establish when the reputation first appeared or verify the named nurse and night-watchman narratives.
2 E Washington St, Middleburg, VA 20117
540-687-6301
The Red Fox operates as a historic inn and tavern in downtown Middleburg; check its website for current dining and lodging availability.