Our Clarke
An inn, garage and service station the Elder family opened at 102 W. Main in 1919, by a 2015 account, and listed in the 1920 Automobile Blue Book. A 1925 newspaper page treats it as separate from the Battletown Inn, which is reported to have taken over the house in the early 1950s.
An inn, garage, and service station the Elder family opened at 102 W. Main in 1919, by a 2015 Clarke Monthly account and its inclusion in the 1920 Automobile Blue Book. A 1925 Clarke Courier page treats it and the Battletown Inn as two separate establishments; the Battletown Inn later took the property in the early 1950s.
The 2015 Clarke Monthly feature reports that in 1919 the Elder family bought the building and opened "The Sign of the Motor Car Inn", listed in the 1920 Automobile Blue Book as a garage and service station as well as an inn, and that it stayed in business until the Battletown Inn took it over in the early 1950s1. An inn-and-garage in one building is the specific late-1910s adaptation of downtown property to the automobile era; the 1920 Blue Book listing places the establishment in the national touring network for motor travellers.
The Motor Car Inn is documented separately from the Battletown Inn in the same year, on the same page of one newspaper. Normalised OCR of the Clarke Courier for 1925 names The Sign of the Motor Car and the Battletown Inn as separate establishments on one page (4 June), and reports the Shenandoah Valley Hotel and Inn Association meeting at the Battletown Inn as guests of Mr. and Mrs. M. B. Pulliam (8 October)1. Two hotels in one downtown, both open, both named in the paper as distinct — with the Battletown Inn already institutional enough to host a trade association.
Two claims establish the Motor Car Inn's 1919 opening, its 1920 national-directory listing, its independent existence alongside the Battletown Inn in 1925, and the early 1950s transfer that ended the Motor Car Inn's own name. Missing: the exact 1950s date of the transfer, the underlying real-estate instruments (the Elder-to-Pulliam sale would be in the county deed books), and the arc of the Elder family's own history in Clarke County. The Clarke County deed-book packet named in the September strategy memo would open most of it.
The feature reports that in 1919 the Elder family bought the building and opened "The Sign of the Motor Car Inn", listed in the 1920 Automobile Blue Book as a garage and service station as well as an inn, and that it stayed in business until the Battletown Inn took it over in the early 1950s.
A separate, named business at 102 W. Main between the house's domestic phase and the Battletown Inn.
The Blue Book was not inspected. The takeover date is given loosely ("early 1950s") in this paragraph and as 1952 elsewhere in the same article.
Evidence role: supports. The 1919 opening, the Blue Book listing and the takeover.
Wendy Gooditis, Clarke Monthly · 2015-06-17 (publication)
Locator: Paragraphs on the Sign of the Motor Car Inn
Relevant passageIn 1919 ... the Elder family bought it and opened ... "The Sign of the Motor Car Inn." ... listed in the 1920 version of the Automobile Blue Book, Volume 3, as a garage and service station as well as an inn. ... it remained in business until the Battletown Inn took it over in the early 1950s
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly-battletown. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. OCR of a 1925 newspaper page treats The Sign of the Motor Car and the Battletown Inn as two establishments.
Clarke Courier (Berryville) · 1925 (publication)
Locator: Issue of 4 June 1925, page 4 (https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85025371/1925-06-04/ed-1/?sp=4): a social column naming a guest at The Sign of the Motor Car and, separately, guests of Mr. and Mrs. M. B. Pulliam at the Battletown Inn. OCR text only; page image not seen.
Checked: Existing OCR reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier-1925. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
Normalised OCR of the Clarke Courier for 1925 names The Sign of the Motor Car and the Battletown Inn as separate establishments on one page (4 June), and reports the Shenandoah Valley Hotel and Inn Association meeting at the Battletown Inn as guests of Mr. and Mrs. M. B. Pulliam (8 October).
That in 1925 the two names belonged to two places, and that a couple named Pulliam hosted at the Battletown Inn, as far as OCR can show.
OCR text normalised by the research package; the page images could not be opened (loc.gov script challenge on 10 September 2026). Nothing is quoted. Hosting a meeting shows an operating role, not ownership. Other 1925 notices in the package (a card party, a lodge social, a resident's death at the inn) are held until a page image is read.
Evidence role: supports. The 4 June 1925 page, by OCR.
Clarke Courier (Berryville) · 1925 (publication)
Locator: Issue of 4 June 1925, page 4 (https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85025371/1925-06-04/ed-1/?sp=4): a social column naming a guest at The Sign of the Motor Car and, separately, guests of Mr. and Mrs. M. B. Pulliam at the Battletown Inn. OCR text only; page image not seen.
Checked: Existing OCR reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier-1925. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The 8 October 1925 report, by OCR.
Clarke Courier (Berryville) · 1925 (publication)
Locator: Issue of 8 October 1925, page 1 (https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85025371/1925-10-08/ed-1/?sp=1): a report that the Shenandoah Valley Hotel and Inn Association met on the Tuesday at the Battletown Inn as guests of Mr. and Mrs. M. B. Pulliam. OCR text only; page image not seen.
Checked: Existing OCR reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier-1925. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
The feature reports that in 1919 the Elder family bought the building and opened "The Sign of the Motor Car Inn", listed in the 1920 Automobile Blue Book as a garage and service station as well as an inn, and that it stayed in business until the Battletown Inn took it over in the early 1950s.
The feature reports that in 1919 the Elder family bought the building and opened "The Sign of the Motor Car Inn", listed in the 1920 Automobile Blue Book as a garage and service station as well as an inn, and that it stayed in business until the Battletown Inn took it over in the early 1950s.
A separate, named business at 102 W. Main between the house's domestic phase and the Battletown Inn.
The Blue Book was not inspected. The takeover date is given loosely ("early 1950s") in this paragraph and as 1952 elsewhere in the same article.
Evidence role: supports. The 1919 opening, the Blue Book listing and the takeover.
Wendy Gooditis, Clarke Monthly · 2015-06-17 (publication)
Locator: Paragraphs on the Sign of the Motor Car Inn
Relevant passageIn 1919 ... the Elder family bought it and opened ... "The Sign of the Motor Car Inn." ... listed in the 1920 version of the Automobile Blue Book, Volume 3, as a garage and service station as well as an inn. ... it remained in business until the Battletown Inn took it over in the early 1950s
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly-battletown. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. OCR of a 1925 newspaper page treats The Sign of the Motor Car and the Battletown Inn as two establishments.
Clarke Courier (Berryville) · 1925 (publication)
Locator: Issue of 4 June 1925, page 4 (https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85025371/1925-06-04/ed-1/?sp=4): a social column naming a guest at The Sign of the Motor Car and, separately, guests of Mr. and Mrs. M. B. Pulliam at the Battletown Inn. OCR text only; page image not seen.
Checked: Existing OCR reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier-1925. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
Normalised OCR of the Clarke Courier for 1925 names The Sign of the Motor Car and the Battletown Inn as separate establishments on one page (4 June), and reports the Shenandoah Valley Hotel and Inn Association meeting at the Battletown Inn as guests of Mr. and Mrs. M. B. Pulliam (8 October).
Normalised OCR of the Clarke Courier for 1925 names The Sign of the Motor Car and the Battletown Inn as separate establishments on one page (4 June), and reports the Shenandoah Valley Hotel and Inn Association meeting at the Battletown Inn as guests of Mr. and Mrs. M. B. Pulliam (8 October).
That in 1925 the two names belonged to two places, and that a couple named Pulliam hosted at the Battletown Inn, as far as OCR can show.
OCR text normalised by the research package; the page images could not be opened (loc.gov script challenge on 10 September 2026). Nothing is quoted. Hosting a meeting shows an operating role, not ownership. Other 1925 notices in the package (a card party, a lodge social, a resident's death at the inn) are held until a page image is read.
Evidence role: supports. The 4 June 1925 page, by OCR.
Clarke Courier (Berryville) · 1925 (publication)
Locator: Issue of 4 June 1925, page 4 (https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85025371/1925-06-04/ed-1/?sp=4): a social column naming a guest at The Sign of the Motor Car and, separately, guests of Mr. and Mrs. M. B. Pulliam at the Battletown Inn. OCR text only; page image not seen.
Checked: Existing OCR reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier-1925. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The 8 October 1925 report, by OCR.
Clarke Courier (Berryville) · 1925 (publication)
Locator: Issue of 8 October 1925, page 1 (https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85025371/1925-10-08/ed-1/?sp=1): a report that the Shenandoah Valley Hotel and Inn Association met on the Tuesday at the Battletown Inn as guests of Mr. and Mrs. M. B. Pulliam. OCR text only; page image not seen.
Checked: Existing OCR reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier-1925. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
See a related record at the Clarke County Historical Association
Also indexed as: The Sign of the Motor Car.
Know something about this place or record? Help fill a gap. It stays private until it is reviewed.
A hospitality name that traveled along West Main Street, and the Federal-period house it settled in for sixty years.
What the evidence says Building documented; name transfer reported; closure reported; earlier site unresolved.