Smoky Ordinary, Virginia : History Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Smoky Ordinary, Virginia

Unincorporated area in Virginia, US

Smoky Ordinary is an unincorporated area in Brunswick County, Virginia.^[1]

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,^[2] 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.^[3]

History

"Ordinary" is sometimes used to refer to a tavern or a place where food is sold to the public.^[4] 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.^[5] The town's first name was "Ordinary", but after it burned during the Revolutionary War, the name was prefixed with "Smok(e)y".^[6]

References

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