General Wayne Inn
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	625 Montgomery Avenue, Merion Station, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates	40°0′33″N 75°15′13″W / 40.00917°N 75.25361°W / 40.00917; -75.25361
Built	1704
NRHP reference  No.	76001655 [1]
Added to NRHP	January 1, 1976

The General Wayne Inn is a former tavern and, since 2005, an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 625 Montgomery Avenue, in Merion Station, Pennsylvania, in the United States.

Tavern history

The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Established as a tavern in 1704, it was previously named the William Penn Inn, Wayside Inn, Tunis Ordinary, and Streepers Tavern before being renamed in 1793 in honor of American Revolutionary War hero General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, who had once stayed there. The Inn gained fame for rumors of being "haunted" and was later featured on Unsolved Mysteries. ^[2]

Murder and suicide

Executive chef James Edwin “Jim” Webb and his business partner Guy Angelo Sileo, Jr. bought the General Wayne in 1995. Webb was found murdered there in his office on December 27, 1996. Felicia Moyse, a 20-year-old assistant chef at the inn and Sileo's girlfriend, committed suicide on February 22, 1997. ^[3]

Moyse had been an alibi witness for Sileo. On the night of the murder, she and Sileo left the General Wayne at the same time, driving to dinner in their separate vehicles. ^[3] Sileo doubled back, killed Webb using a gun later linked to him by forensic evidence, then rushed to arrive at dinner before Moyse.

Police believe that Moyse realized her boyfriend had set her up as his alibi and was unable to live with it. ^{[3] [4]}

Police proved that Sileo had killed Webb in order to receive the $650,000 (equivalent to $1,263,000 in 2023) life insurance money from their partnership policies, before Webb could end their partnership and shut down the General Wayne. ^[5] Sileo was convicted in 2001 and sentenced to life in prison. ^[5]

Famous people

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Famous people who visited the inn include:

• Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
• Julius Erving
• Benjamin Franklin
• Dylan Gelula
• William Penn
• Edgar Allan Poe
• George Washington
• Anthony Wayne

Synagogue

In 2005, the building was purchased and renovated as Chabad of the Main Line, an Orthodox Jewish congregation that practices in the Chabad-Lubavitch rite. Located on the Philadelphia Main Line, the congregation converted the former tavern into a synagogue and community center. ^{[6] [7]}

References

Further reading

• Lake, Matt (2005). "Hessian Mercenaries Haunt General Wayne Inn". Weird Pennsylvania: Your Travel Guide to Pennsylvania's Local Legends and Best-Kept Secrets. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN  978-1-4027-3279-9.

External links

• Chabad of the Main Line official website
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. PA-144, " General Anthony Wayne Inn, 625 Montgomery Avenue, Narberth, Montgomery County, PA", 1 photo, supplemental material