Join the Greenbrier Historical Society on Friday, July 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. as they open the doors of their latest exhibit, Frazer’s Star Hotel Tavern Room. The event will have live music by the local folk band MA’AM and tavern refreshments, including cider from Hawk Knob Cidery and beer from the Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company.
James Frazer purchased the North House in 1836, an ideal location for Frazer’s Star Hotel. Mr. Frazer had already purchased the adjacent lot and built the Greenbrier County Library there in 1834. The Star Hotel was popular among traveling judges and lawyers who could do their research next door at the library. To create the Star Hotel, Frazer more than doubled the size of the North House by adding on two additional wings of rooms for guests and various outbuildings. An 1854 description of the property stated there were two good cellars, an orchard, a vegetable garden, a 50-horse stable, outhouses comprising of servants’ (enslaved) cabins, kitchens, a meat house, and a dairy. The hotel operated until James Frazer’s death in 1854.
This July, the Greenbrier Historical Society is recreating that tavern room from Frazer’s Star Hotel at the North House Museum. The Tavern Room will serve as both an educational period room and an event space. Visitors will learn about the history of the Frazer family, the enslaved presence at the Star Hotel, and the role of hotels and resorts in the mid-1800s.
For more information on the exhibit opening or the history of the Frazer family visit the Greenbrier Historical Society’s website: www.greenbrierhistorical.org.
