Sheridan Livery Inn

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In 1883, John Sheridan bought the lot on the southeast corner of Main and Henry Street for $1,800. Sheridan, an Irish immigrant who had enlisted in Confederate forces at age 14, served in the cavalry during the Civil War where his love for animals grew. With this piece of land, Sheridan built a livery stable that functioned as both a mail carrying center and stagecoach line between Lexington, Staunton, and Hot Springs. Additionally, Sheridan boarded, rented, and sold horses at his livery.

John Sheridan was truly a generous man. He made several anonymous donations to the poor throughout the years while also running his business. He also genuinely loved his horses, refusing to rent out his horses to individuals known to be cruel to the animals.

Sheridan’s livery remained profitable for multiple decades, but the rise of the automobile caused demand for Sheridan’s business to decline. In 1919, Sheridan sold his property to the Rockbridge Steam Laundry Corporation for $7,000.

The Rockbridge Steam Laundry Corporation decided to add on to the building in the 1920’s to make additional room for laundry equipment. This business thrived in Lexington for about fifty years, but the technological development of the self-service laundromat along with minimum wage laws and the cost of delivery trucks for out of town orders caused the Rockbridge Laundry and Dry Cleaners (renamed in 1950) to cease operations in December of 1970.

After changing ownership multiple times, the building ended up being bought by Carlson Thomas, Thomas Bradshaw and Charles Harer for $42,000. These partners recognized the building’s historical significance and decided to restore it in 1974 to recreate “Old Main Street” – a building that essentially existed as an indoor mall. Carlson Thomas, the lead interior designer of the partners, planned for the mall to have a four hole putting green, eight shops including a pub, a “Golf Tavern”, and possibly a movie theater. In its time, "Old Main Street" hosted a variety of shops and had high numbers of visitors.

The property’s time as a mall was short-lived, however, and in 1994 Ugo and Gina Benicasa purchased the building which they would extensively restore to create the Sheridan Livery Inn and Restaurant that opened for business in 1997. Hugo and Gina’s son, Francesco, and his wife, Meredith joined the business in April of 2007 and continue to run the restaurant and inn today.