About Us
Test Round 5: The records at Howard County Historical Society trace this Inn to 1755 and show that it was sitting on 100 acres owned by Henry Pierpont, a Quaker. Pierpont patented "The Search" of 98 acres. The patent later became a deed to the property.
The magnificent white oak outside was certified by mdbigtrees.org in 2023 with No. BT-4379 and official measurements of 80‘ high and 204" circumference. It was determined that the tree was planted circa 1787, when the U.S. Constitution was signed at the Independence Hall in Philadelphia, marking a pivotal moment in American history.
Believe it or not, the locals told a different story both in person and in print about the early period. They asserted that the house was a local roadside inn known as Wayside Inn. It was close to the main road that ran from Washington to Ellicott City and on to Baltimore. Many people traveling on that road would have stopped here for a room and a hot meal on their way to and from one of those towns. Local lore asserted one of those many travelers was one George Washington. A law firm, which tried to lease this inn but failed, also asserted that John Quincy Adams, the 6th U.S. President, was a visitor. A pair of traveling scholars of the period told a former innkeeper that they had no doubt at all that George Washington visited as he would have passed by many times and it would have been considered rude not to at least stop by to pay his respects to the owner.
The October 2024 edition of Washingtonian magazine listed Wayside Inn as the leading one of the Mid-Atlantic’s "haunted" hotels and inns.
Historical artifacts and information about the early innkeepers are available here: ()
