Portrait of James T. Carter Sr. (1808-1884) Proprietor of Carter’s Hotel

Among the early leading businesses of the town of Chatham, Carter’s Hotel was known far and wide throughout the second half of the 1800s. The proprietor, Mr. James Thomas Carter (born 1808) was a son of Thomas Carter and former Miss Nancy A. Hutchings. His grandfather Thomas Carter the Patriot settled and built a home “Green Rock” about two miles southwest of Chatham before the town existed. James married Miss Lucy W. Lanier and raised a large family of ten children together plus a few who passed away young. By 1850, James had purchased a frame building in town called the Tavern House and made it his family’s dwelling. Thanks to a 1933 Virginia Historical Inventory interview done with Mrs. Belle (Ragsdale) Carter and Mrs. Bettie (Pigg) Carter, the two daughters-in-law of James Carter revealed some details from the past. “A building adjoining the [tavern house] property was used for bedrooms for the guests. They had rooms reserved for Statemen, Governors, and Senators who were frequent guests. A long table in the center of the dining room with benches on either side the length of the table was used to seat the guests.” The tavern prepared “a feast” during court dates when lawyers came in from Danville, Lynchburg, and adjoining counties to Pittsylvania Court House by horse and buggy.

 The 1850 census identified James as a landlord whose lodgers included law student Griffith D. Neal, physician Nathaniel Barksdale, saddler and postmaster Daniel C. Ragsdale, lawyer Isaac H. Carrington, lawyer Joseph Martin, and a carpenter Josiah Gregory. As business improved, Carter expanded the building to include more rooms. The 1860 census shows a total of sixteen guests and two servants staying in “Carter’s Hotel” in addition to his family of eight. Lodgers included silversmith James T. Guthrie, merchant James W. Whitehead, salesman Joel Mustain, wheelwright William C. Haden, coach maker James B. Flynn from New York, merchant John E. Lanier, law student John D. Coles, lawyer John L. Hurt, lawyer William H. Werth, law student Shields S. Lucke, lawyer Charles E. Dabney, deputy circuit court clerk Edward A. Barber from New York, carriage trimmer (upholstering interiors) Michael Leftwich from Germany, silversmith Charles Hubner from Pennsylvania, carriage maker Charles Lovelace, and master carpenter Thomas E. Pugh. Lucinda Star worked as the hotel servant and her son William worked as a hostler to maintain the horses. Another hotel operated nearby under Chapman J. Simmons. 

In 1870, Carter’s Hotel had five guests when the census was recorded. James and Lucy lived with eight of their children and grandchildren. Their son Scott worked as the hotel clerk. Among the guests were county court judge James D. Coles, wheelwright William C. Haden, lawyers Charles E. Dabney and his brother Chiswell Dabney, and deputy circuit court clerk Stanhope Scott Hurt who was then only nineteen years old. Three servants were listed including Mary Mitchell, Ardena Adams, and Isaac Hodnett. In 1880, surrounded by grandchildren, James made further improvements to Chatham’s most commodious business. The following eight guests were listed: house carpenters William Turner and Samuel Broth, druggist Samuel Haile, bar keeper Robert Norman, lawyer George T. Rison, Mrs. Bethenia (Pannill) Martin, lawyer B. Bird Munford, and Mrs. Jane L. (Saunders) Lucke. Also of note, editor of the Chatham newspaper Lysander H. Pigg had his name written down and then marked out from the list of boarders. In addition, there were nine African American people hired to work at the hotel, including hostler John Carter, three cooks Martin Carter, Lucinda Carter, and Abby Davis. Mary Mitchell worked as a housemaid, then William Clements, William Freeman, Alexander Hancock, and Horace McKinsey worked as servants. 

James T. Carter Sr. lived until 1884 and was buried at Chatham Burial Park. The hotel remained in the family and was eventually sold in 1899 to George Richard Bennett of the Toshes community. Under the new ownership, the building was named the Hotel Bennett and established a history of its own. The original building burned in 1902 but a more modern one was constructed in its location. Neither building now remains, but they were situated on the south side of Court Place across from the Chatham Courthouse. 

Carter’s Hotel as it appeared in an 1896 map by the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company