Grass Rootes
Grass Rootes opened in the spring of 2016 with the goal of serving incredible farm-to-table cuisine with local influence in a historic setting that makes our guests feel at home from the moment they walk through the front door.
Located in the oldest commercial building in Culpeper, VA, it’s history can be traced back to George Washington, who was commissioned to survey and plot the town of Culpeper in 1749. The north side of Davis Street was designated as the “Public Square” which was comprised of the colonial jail, original courthouse, stocks, whipping posts and plot 35. The first documentation of any structure on plot 35, where Grass Rootes now stands, is a deed of sale in 1790 to Thomas Reade Rootes. T.R. Rootes was a distinguished Virginia lawyer and later a member of the House of Delegates.
Since its construction, the building has been used as various businesses such as a tobacco warehouse, stables, a tin shop, Civil War jail for both the Union and Confederacy, and during the 1900’s, a hardware store. It has survived two fires and a major earthquake and is said that the spirits of soldiers and slaves still remain within the buildings walls.