Walker’s Inn

In the mid 1920s, Andrew "Norfolk" Walker arrived on foot in the Stafford Courthouse area from Jamestown, North Carolina, met Rosie Tyler, and together they pursued their dream of running a business. After starting a small sandwich shop and marrying, they bought twelve acres on the east side of Route 1 in 1941 and built Walker's Inn, a cinderblock gathering place with a restaurant on the first floor, rooms for overnight guests on the second floor, and small cabins down the hill. Rosie's cooking, especially her chicken sandwiches, helped the business flourish, and the expansion of the Quantico Marine Corps base in 1942 brought black soldiers from Quantico and Fort A.P. Hill for entertainment, making the Inn a destination for hundreds of customers between Washington and Richmond. Popular singers including Dinah Washington and BB King performed there, and James Brown visited to enjoy the food outside. A nearby level area became a ball field where Mr. Walker's African American team, the Stafford All Stars, played teams from across the region through much of the 1950s and 1960s, before he later turned the field into a motorcycle racecourse that also drew large crowds. Though Stafford Hospital now stands on the site, Walker's Inn and its founders are remembered for feeding, housing, and entertaining guests for more than three decades.

Courthouse Square, Virginia · United States