The Essex Inn was built in 1851 by Dr. Lawrence Roane and stands as an imposing example of Greek Revival architecture, featuring white stucco over brick atop a high English basement. The home contains twelve original rooms, each with its own fireplace—now thoughtfully converted to electric—arranged around spacious central hallways on each floor. The front and back porches remain original, supported by stately fluted columns in the classical Greek style. Inside, original heart-of-pine hardwood floors span the first and second stories, a testament to the craftsmanship of the period.

Behind the main house stands a two-story brick structure, constructed in the 1840s to house the kitchen and laundry, as well as to serve as living quarters for the enslaved individuals who worked on the property. The fireplaces and hearths in each of these rooms have been carefully preserved, including the original swinging iron bars once used to suspend cooking pots over the fire.

The home has a rich and storied history. According to local lore, during the Civil War, as Union forces fired upon Tappahannock from the Rappahannock River, a young man scaled one of the chimneys and fastened a white bedsheet to signal neutrality—an act said to have spared the house from destruction. In April 1862, Union gunboats destroyed a Confederate fort just south of town, and the Essex Inn was occupied by Union troops for approximately a month. The home was again seized in June 1864 during Draper’s Raid and remained under Union control until the conclusion of the war, after which it returned to the Roane family and was occupied by Captain Lawrence "Lal" Roane, Jr., a Confederate officer of the 55th Infantry.

Over the years, the property changed hands several times but remained a private residence until it underwent extensive restoration and opened to the public as the Essex Inn.