Holly Hill Inn marked its 40th anniversary Sunday

Sunday, Nov. 10, marked 40 years since the Holly Hill Inn hosted its first public reception. It began in 1979 as a modern country inn and fine dining establishment owned by Honeywood Parrish Rouse and her son, Isaac Parrish Rouse, and operated by Rex and Rose Lyon. In 2000, Ouita and Chris Michel bought it, and in 2001 opened their restaurant. It has been a Midway landmark much longer.

According to the history on the restaurant website, the first building on the site, around 1800, was Stevenson's Tavern, a stone-and-brick building overlooking the crossroads of the Georgetown and Leestown roads. It was home to the area's first post office, established as Stevenson's in 1832, just before the Lexington and Ohio Railroad began buying land for Kentucky's first railroad.

A fire in the early 1840s destroyed the tavern, which had been bought by Hancock W. Davis in 1839. He built the Greek Revival structure that stands today, "incorporating some doors, walls, windows and fireplaces from the earlier building into the new home," the history says. "Davis lived in the house until 1854, when it was sold to Squire William A. Moore, a local magistrate and president of the Midway Paper Mill Company. Moore and his wife added some Victorian touches to the house, and they lived there for several decades."

Isaac Parish bought the home in 1903 and did major renovations, including a large Colonial-style veranda. "Its design was intended to provide Mr. Parrish's children with ample room to play, and a concrete deck was poured so the children would have a place to roller-skate," the history says. "The house was named Hermosa after an English rose found growing on the grounds. The house and grounds were a well-run, self-sufficient community with orchards, chicken yards, servants' quarters, stables, and even a mushroom growing operation housed in an old ice house. The Parrishes were well known for their hospitality, and the home was the center for many festive gatherings."