In the early days on the Virginia frontier, before Botetourt was formed from Augusta County in 1770, settlers and travelers were concerned about protection from Indians. Part of this protection came in the form of blockhouses, structures built of heavy timber sides with ports for gunfire. Over-hanging upper floors gave defenders a position from which to shoot down at their attackers and also made scaling of outside walls extremely difficult. In addition to serving as defense, a blockhouse could serve as an armory or barracks. These structures became more significant during the French and Indian War.
Such a blockhouse was constructed on a knoll overlooking Tinker Creek in Cloverdale along the Carolina Road (U.S. Route 11), aiding settlements between Fort Lewis in Salem and Fort William in Amsterdam. Its loft, just above the front door, was reportedly where General George Washington hid from an intense search by the French and Indians. The same blockhouse served as quarters for Washington during a three-day summit with Colonel Andrew Lewis, Colonel William Fleming, and other Colonial leaders.
On the front lawn of the blockhouse stood what was claimed to be an Indian worship tree, eventually termed the “Sacred Tree of Cloverdale.” Suspected to be over 500 years old, the tree was downed by a windstorm in July 1961. The property was initially a part of land patents received by Robert Harvey from 1749 to 1792 eventually encompassing 10,000 acres. The Meadow View Inn property experienced 21 registered land transfers from the 1700s to 1935.
As the need for frontier fortifications waned, the building was transformed into a residence. It is likely Catherine Langhorne, widow of William Langhorne, made her home there after inheriting the property upon his death in 1859. In 1891 the acreage, “including house and forge,” came into the hands of C.E. Probst.
Additional rooms were added and the blockhouse became the front room of a quaint inn. By June 1930, an advertisement in the Salem Times-Register offered steam-heated rooms, featured Virginia cured ham dinners, and provided catering at the Inn operated by Mr. and Mrs. E.T. Ralls “the year round.” Social columns in local weekly newspapers mentioned bridge club meetings and entertainment of out-of-town guests, convention dinners, “linen showers,” and retirement parties. One gathering involved a Golden Wedding Anniversary Celebration held at “the Probst home, now Meadow View Inn….”
The Buchanan News of March 1935 announced that Dr. and Mrs. Harry Semones of Roanoke had purchased Meadow View with plans to operate it as a tourist home. A journalist visiting the property in 1959 wrote, “There are many small rooms upstairs” but “the little main lobby is about the same as it was a couple centuries ago, although the once exposed rafters have been covered.” He reported that “Washington’s room has a slanting outside wall” while “the peep hole and rifle holes were plastered over. The big fireplaces, in some cases now covered because stoves are in use, and the stone chimneys add their own charm.”
After leaving the possession of the Semones, Meadow View Inn stood vacant for a number of years. Ultimately, the property was purchased by a heavy equipment firm and for a while a section of the blockhouse served as their offices. The caption on a photo of Meadow View Inn in the 2008 Architectural Survey of Botetourt County by Virginia Department of Historic Resources notes “… center section is probably one of the earliest extant buildings in Botetourt County but is slated for demolition.”
Various companies have occupied the historic site, but the centuries-old structure no longer stands sentinel over Cloverdale.
~ Preservation Botetourt, Inc.
