Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Hicks House (Appomattox Courthouse) Advertisement, Ms2010-036, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Hicks House (Appomattox Courthouse) Advertisement was acquired by Special Collections prior to 2009.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Hicks House (Appomattox Courthouse) Advertisement were commenced and completed in June, 2010.

Biographical/Historical Information

Hicks House refers to Clover Hill Tavern; constructed in 1819 by brothers Alexander and Lilburne Patteson, it is the oldest structure in the village of Appomattox Courthouse. It was a restaurant, inn, and bar for travelers along the Richmond-Lynchburg stage road. In 1846, the court house and subsequent scene of the surrender of General Lee's army was built across the road. During the evening of April 10, 1865, the Union army set up printing presses in Clover Hill Tavern to produce more than 30,000 paroles for surrendered Confederate soldiers. After the war, the village fell into financial ruin and the courthouse was largely forgotten by those except veterans; however, town reservation efforts started in the 1920's.

Although Wilson Hix owned the tavern during the war, E.G. Hix later took over proprietorship in the time period between the end of the Civil War and the 1892 fire which destroyed the courthouse. J.W. McKinney took over the proprietorship of the tavern after the fire. E.G. Hix was married three times. His first marriage was in 1940 to Birta Tibbs; his second wife was Eva Tibbs and his third wife was Miss Cobbs of Franklin.

Featherston, Nathaniel Ragland. Appomattox County: History and Genealogy. Baltimore: Reprinted for Clearfield Company by Genealogical Pub., 1998. Print.

Marvel, William. A Place Called Appomattox. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2000. Print.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of a single printed advertisement seeking summer tourists to come and stay at "Hicks House" in the town of Appomattox Courthouse to see the site of General Lee's surrender. It lists E.G. Hix as the proprietor and boasts that the accommodations are, "pleasant [and] quiet" and only, "two miles and a half from Appomattox Station."

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by material type.

Related Material

The proceedings connected with the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, April, 1865 by Frank P. Cauble (E477.67 .C37 1975 Spec Civil War)

Index Terms

Subjects:

• Civil War
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865

Adjunct Descriptive Data