History

In 1904, prominent Upstate merchant John A. Walker commissioned the construction of a home in downtown Spartanburg in the then-popular Neoclassical Greek Revival style. More than 100 years later, the Inn on Main still stands as one of the city’s best-preserved architectural jewels.

Walker’s enjoyment of the house didn’t last long, however. Within a year, he had sold it to another local merchant, W.C. Carrington – who, two years later, sold it to an entrepreneur Alonzo Marshall Alexander. At last, the house had found a long-term owner.

With the help of their eleven servants, Alonzo and his wife, Cecelia McCants Alexander, raised their two children and stayed active in state and local affairs. When Alonzo died in 1933, his son, Alonzo Bernard Alexander, took over both the house and the family business. Over the decades, one of their businesses would expand from pianos sold from the back of horse-drawn wagons to a full-service music emporium.

Like his father, Alonzo Bernard remained in the house until his death, when his son, Alonzo “Lonnie” Bernard Alexander Jr., took in over. In 1969, Lonnie moved the music shop into the family home and was then on referred to as The Alexander Music House. 

The Alexander Music House remained a downtown landmark for 25 years. In 1994, Lonnie’s daughter, Sheryl “Sherry” Alexander, closed the business, despite having restored the property two years earlier. In 1997, she sold the building to Charles and Derrick Belue, who opened a chiropractic clinic. Four generations of ownership by the Alexanders had come to an end. 

The house received a new life in 2002, when current owners and innkeepers Wayne and Susan Sease began its transformation to Spartanburg’s first Bed and Breakfast. With painstaking attention to detail, the Seases have further restored the home to its former glory, winning numerous awards in the process. On April 11, 2003, the Inn on Main was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.