Smoky Ordinary, Virginia

Smoky Ordinary is an unincorporated area in Brunswick County, Virginia.[1] Location: 36° 49.729′ N, 77° 44.283′ W. Marker is near Dolphin, Virginia, in Brunswick County. Marker is at the intersection of Liberty Road and Old Stage Road, on the left when traveling east on Liberty Road[2]

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,[3] 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.[4]

History

"Ordinary" is sometimes referred to a tavern or a place where food is sold to the public [5]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.[6] The town's first name was "Ordinary", but after it burned during the Revolutionary War, the name was prefixed with "Smok(e)y".[7]

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



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