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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miss Mary Bobo\u2019s Boarding House has served up tradition, and Southern hospitality, not to mention good home cooking, since 1913. Located in the heart of Lynchburg, Tenn., just off the town square, it\u2019s recognized as one the South\u2019s signature family-style dining restaurants. It possesses a history almost as rich as Miss Mary\u2019s Fudge Pie and was built before Lynchburg became home to Jack Daniel\u2019s Tennessee Whiskey.<\/p>\n
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In 1818, Thomas Roundtree, one of the founding fathers of Lynchburg, settled and built his home on the property where the house exists today. He built the house around the same time as he laid out the town. To attract settlers, Roundtree developed several businesses and auctioned homestead sites.<\/p>\n
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He eventually sold his home to Dr. E.Y. Salmon and his wife in 1857. Having recently returned from the Civil War, Dr. Salmon came to Lynchburg to practice medicine in the newly developed township. The couple added a large, two-story frame home to the original brick structure, giving the house its distinction and elegance. This would serve as both Dr. Salmon\u2019s home and place of business. It became known as the Grand Central Hotel, but was sometimes called the Salmon House. Almost immediately, it became known as one of the best boarding houses in the region because of its delicious food.<\/p>\n
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In 1908, Dr. Salmon retired and Jack and Mary Bobo took over the property.<\/p>\n
Jack and Mary had been longtime neighbors, as well as classmates. In 1902 they wed in Shelbyville, Tenn., at their minister\u2019s home. The two eventually went into business and moved to Estill Springs with Mary\u2019s half-brother, Frank Evans. Their first daughter was born in 1905.<\/p>\n
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Eventually, Jack and Mary returned to their hometown of Lynchburg and became the caretakers of the old Salmon House. The couple renamed the property The Bobo Hotel, but continued its reputation of outstanding food and board. It developed as the town\u2019s centerpiece and a permanent fixture, both socially and commercially. In 1913, Mr. Salmon died and the home was sold to the Bobo\u2019s for $2,500.<\/p>\n
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Jack Bobo died in 1948, but Miss Mary continued to run the boarding house for another 35 years. The boarding house eventually became exclusive to The Jack Daniel Distillery\u2019s invited guests. Throughout a given year, Miss Mary and her staff would feed 50 to 100 people a day, five days a week. And her guest book boasts the signatures of notable guests from around the world.\u00a0Up until the age of 98, Miss Mary ordered the groceries, planned the menus and wrote the checks.<\/p>\n
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During Miss Mary\u2019s final years, she continued with her private table and almost every day her daughter and son, also widowed, ate with her. In 1983, Miss Mary died just weeks shy of her 102nd birthday. With her children already in their retirement years, it seemed the boarding house might close its doors for good. However, The Distillery realized the importance of the boarding house to the town and Lynchburg\u2019s vitality. Its charm and country cooking embodied the principle elements of Southern tradition.<\/p>\n
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The distillery purchased the establishment from Miss Mary Bobo\u2019s heirs. It had been more than 75 years since someone other than Miss Mary Bobo had run the boarding house, but it reopened on May 1, 1984, with Jack Daniel\u2019s great-grandniece, Lynne Tolley, as proprietress.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Miss Mary Bobo\u2019s Boarding House has served up tradition, and Southern hospitality, not to mention good home cooking, since 1913. Located in the heart of Lynchburg, Tenn., just off the town square, it\u2019s recognized as one the South\u2019s signature family-style dining restaurants. It possesses a history almost as rich as Miss Mary\u2019s Fudge Pie and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":17293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,799],"tags":[928,1065,1086,1087],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n