Travelers' rooms were small, porch-like rooms attached to the outside of houses usually situated along stage coach routes and were intended for the use of any passing traveler who needed accommodations. The rooms, often at the back of the houses, contained one or more beds and a minimum of other furniture. As a rule there was no charge for such accommodations, and, since most travelers' rooms had no doors leading inside the house, the owner of the house might have little or no contact with his overnight "guest." The practice of attaching travelers' rooms evolved in rural areas where there were few or no inns, residences were scattered, and travel was difficult. The reputation for "southern hospitality" may have originated because of this practice. Travelers' rooms may be seen at the King-Bazemore House (1763) near Windsor in Bertie County, at Mill Prong House (1790s) near Wagram in Scotland County, and elsewhere.
Copyright Notice: This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. Copyright © 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.
Reference:
Guion G. Johnson, Ante-Bellum North Carolina: A Social History (1937).
Image Credits:
Martin, Todd. "King-Bazemore House" Photograph. September 10, 2006. From Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tmartin/286477241/ (accessed June 11, 2012).
Citation
Powell, William S. "Travelers' Rooms." NCpedia. Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. Accessed on December 14th, 2024. https://www.ncpedia.org/travelers-rooms.