The original building was built in 1709 for Robert Jones (Robert ap John), the second of four sons of John ap Thomas, Quaker Leader and co purchaser of land directly from William Penn, who died before his family sailed to America.  Robert was a member of the Provincial Assembly and a justice of the peace in colonial times, but never an innkeeper.  When he died in 1746, he left the property to his grandson, Silas Jones of Darby, who rented it to Anthony Tunis.  Tunis, so far as is known, was the first to operate an "Ordinary," serving meals at a fixed price. By this time, the country road passing the Tunis Ordinary and the Quaker meetinghouse next door had become and important route west, the King's Highway or the Great Conestoga Road.   The road, which in less than 100 years had lengthened the link between Philadelphia, Lancaster and towns beyond the Susquehanna River, provided a way for both the British and the patriots to march.  It carried coaches filled with Continental Congressmen fleeing to York, and regularly accommodated long pack trains carrying provisions to feed the city of Philadelphia.

In 1775, Abraham Streeper bought the inn, probably enlarged it, and continued the establishment as a place of rest and refreshment. His wife, Hannah, was a great, great granddaughter of Dr. Thomas Wynne, after whom Wynnewood was named, and a compatriot of William Penn.

On Sunday, September 17, 1777, Washington's army crossed from the Roxborough side of the Schuylkill to the Lower Merion side, via Levering's ford.  Journals of the participants describe: "the water being nearly up to the waist" and before dark "(we) reached the great road to Lancaster at Merion Meeting House, and proceeded up that road, when we encamped in an open field..."  Perhaps Washington had a bowl of soup at the Streepers, but proof is lacking.  The next day, from the Buck Tavern, about three miles west along the Lancaster Road, the General sent a plea to Congress for blankets and provisions "the season becoming cold..."

The inn probably got its name after Mad Anthony's triumph at Stony Point, New York, in 1779. In 1790, an appeal was advertised for a stolen horse to be living at "the sign of General Wayne".  On February 10th, 1775, Joseph Price who frequented Streepers and was "sparking" Mary Streeper, set off for Norristown to obtain a court order to sell Streeper's Tavern to pay debts.  Edward Price bought the inn and the next day deeded it back to Mary Streeper, now cleared of debt.   Alas, she married Titus Yerkes, not Joseph Price, and the public called it Yerkes from that day on.

In 1806, the inn became the polling place for the district. On election day a horse and wagon shuttled back and forth between Ardmore and the General Wayne, for Democrats only! Libations poured freely at both ends of the line "as an accessory to hilarity following success, or as a solace of defeat" wrote a prominent local.  "On certain occasions the Democratic majorities were so heavy the messenger from the Wayne really staggered under their weight when he reached the boss' office."   The General Wayne post office was established February 5th, 1830; closed on July 10th; re-established February 8th of that year, then moved to another location as the Academy Post Office in 1882.    In 1854, Yerkes' daughter sold the inn for $13,500 to David Young with an added acre, presumably across the road.  James Baird owned it from 1883, and Timothy Murphy bought a part to build a blacksmith shop in 1885.  Edward O'dell bought the General Wayne in 1897 about the time the Belmont Driving Park, just up Meeting House Lane, became a harness racing Mecca, with fans of fast horses taking sides, trotters v. pacers.  Built for the Philadelphia Centennial, the 72 acre Park was sold in 1924 to a construction company for a housing development. In 1936, a sheriff's sale delivered the old inn into the hands of I. Newton Smith, who ultimately sold it to Barton Johnson, the genial landlord for many years.

 In the late 1990s, one of the partners who had taken ownership of the General Wayne was murdered in the third floor office. The case was sensationalized for months in Philadelphia and suburban newspapers.  After the murder, the Inn sat empty for two years. In 2000, to assure that the Inn would keep it’s “longest consecutive running inn” status, concerned neighbors ate a box lunch inside the dining room. In 2001, the inn was re-opened for business by Frank Cacciutti, owner of the noted 1738 Seven Stars Inn in Phoenixville. Sadly, on July 21, 2002, the General Wayne Inn was closed once again. Its future is now in question.

Material courtesy of the General Wayne Inn website and the Lower Merion Historical Society, adapted from their book,  "The First 300: The Amazing and Rich History of Lower Merion."