The simple vernacular hostelry that is Burke’s Tavern is a reminder of a flourishing period in the area, when taverns were the scene of much local socializing and political activity. Located at a rural crossroads on the Nottoway/Prince Edward county line, the tavern fostered a tiny settlement which took the name Burke’s Tavern and included an extant antebellum store across the road. Although a tavern had existed at the site since the mid-18th century, the present structure was erected ca. 1827 for Samuel Burke, a militia colonel, Whig politician, and local entrepreneur. Thomas A. Smythe, the last Union general mortally wounded in the Civil War, died in Burke’s Tavern on April 9, 1865.