White Horse Inn

The White Horse Inn, known in the nineteenth century as the Lorenzo Hoard House, traces its roots to Metamora's pioneer days. In approximately 1850, Lorenzo Hoard took over a general store building that had been constructed a few years earlier and turned it into a hotel, restaurant and stagecoach stop. The Hoard family operated the Hoard House as a hotel until the early twentieth century, when the property was sold outside of the family. A subsequent owner renamed the establishment the White Horse Inn, and the historic inn has operated under that name ever since. The White Horse Inn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as part of the Metamora Crossroads Historic District.

The building that now houses the White Horse Inn is believed to have been built around 1848 as a general store. In 1850, Lorenzo Hoard established a hotel and stagecoach stop in the building, renaming it the Hoard House. When the Michigan Central Railroad reached Metamora in 1872, Hoard received a franchise from the railroad to feed and house overnight passengers.

Hoard and his wife, Lucy Carpenter Hoard, operated the establishment for a generation, until turning over the management to their daughter, Louisa Hoard Perkins, and her husband, James Perkins. Lorenzo Hoard, who also served at various times as Metamora's postmaster and justice of the peace, died in 1888.

In 1905, Hoard descendants sold the property to William Deeter and Samuel Miller. The Detroit Free Press commented on the sale as follows: Deeter & Miller, of the Deeter house, have purchased the Hoard house here, an old landmark owned and run by the Hoard family about fifty years ago. It was the place in pioneer days where all elections and social gatherings were held.”

The building then passed through a succession of owners, including Gilbert Olds and Frank Peters, who changed the business's name to the White Horse Inn in approximately 1923, during the Prohibition Era.

The building has survived several periods of neglect during its history and was purchased in 2014 by Victor Dzenowagis and Linda Egeland, who commissioned a respectful renovation and expansion of the building by von Staden Architects of Royal Oak, Michigan. The architects kept the original two-story frame building intact and designed an addition in keeping with the spirit of the historical structure. In 2020, the White Horse Inn is a popular eatery that bills itself as one of Michigan's oldest restaurants.

As part of the Metamora Crossroads Historic District, the White Horse Inn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Record Group 79. National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 – 2017. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, Metamora Crossroads Historic District, 1984.

Sanborn Map Company. Fire Insurance Map of Metamora, Lapeer County, Michigan, 1902.

“Old Hotel Changes Hands,” Detroit Free Press, September 22, 1905, p.11.

Graham, David V. "Harry Snover Relives History of Metamora's Famous Inn: White Horse's Past Includes Period as Stagecoach Stop," Flint Journal, August 25, 1969, p.6.

Carnacchio, C.J. "White Horse Inn Gets New Owners," Oxford Leader, August 22, 2001, p.4.

Greene, Sharon. "New Owners Plan to Reopen White Horse Inn in Metamora This Month," Oakland Press, November 17, 2014.

Baetens, Molly. "New Owners Add to White Horse Inn History," Detroit News, November 19, 2014.

Ruhling, Nancy A. "Back in the Saddle Again: Restoring the White Horse Inn," Traditional Building, November 8, 2015.

Purdom, Gwendolyn. "The White Horse Inn Gallops Back to Life," Preservation, Spring 2015.

Wilke, Steve. "Metamora's White Horse Inn Worth the Drive," Hour Detroit, December 5, 2016.