View source for General Wayne Inn

{{Short description|Historic former tavern in Merion, Pennsylvania}}
{{Redirect|Chabad of The Main Line||Chabad}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox NRHP
|name         = General Wayne Inn
|nrhp_type    = 
|image        = General Wayne Inn PA.jpg
|image_size   = 250
|caption      = 
|location     = 625 Montgomery Avenue, [[Merion, Pennsylvania|Merion Station]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|coordinates  = {{coord|40|0|33|N|75|15|13|W|display=inline,title}}
|locmapin     = Pennsylvania#USA
|built        = 1704
|architect    = 
|architecture = 
|added        = January 1, 1976
|refnum       = 76001655<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
}}

The '''General Wayne Inn''' is a former [[tavern]] and, since 2005, an [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] [[Jewish]] [[synagogue]] located at 625 Montgomery Avenue, in [[Merion, Pennsylvania|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 [[List of Unsolved Mysteries episodes#Season 1 (1988–89)|Unsolved Mysteries]].<ref name="VS">{{cite web |last=Weilbacher |first=Mike |year=2006 |title=Haunted history and the rebirth of the General Wayne Inn |publisher=Mainline Times and Surburban |access-date= |url=https://www.mainlinemedianews.com/2006/11/01/haunted-history-and-the-rebirth-of-the-general-wayne-inn/}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref name=FFiles>{{cite episode |title=[[Forensic Files (season 10)#ep251|Murder on the Menu]] |series=[[Forensic Files]] |network=[[HLN (TV channel)|HLN]] |date=8 February 2006 |access-date= }}</ref>

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.<ref name=FFiles /> Sileo doubled back, killed Webb using a .25 [[Beretta Model 20]] pistol 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.<ref name=FFiles /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unexplainedstuff.com/Ghosts-and-Phantoms/Famous-Haunted-Houses-and-Places-General-wayne-inn.html |title=General Wayne Inn |work=Famous Haunted Houses and Places |publisher=Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained |date= |access-date= }}</ref>

Police proved that Sileo had killed Webb in order to receive the $650,000 ({{Inflation|US|650000|1996|r=-3|fmt=eq}}) life insurance money from their partnership policies, before Webb could end their partnership and shut down the General Wayne.<ref name=Delco>{{cite news |url=http://www.delcotimes.com/article/DC/20120601/NEWS/306019941 |title=General Wayne Inn killer chef sees latest appeal denied |last=Hessler Jr. |first=Carl |work=[[Delaware County Daily Times]] |date=1 June 2012 |access-date=29 April 2016}}</ref> Sileo was convicted in 2001 and sentenced to life in prison.<ref name=Delco />

=== Famous people ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2016}}
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 ==
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| leadership            = {{ubl|Rabbi Shraga Sherman|{{nowrap|Rabbi Baruch Shalom Davidson}}}}
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| location              = 625 Montgomery Avenue,  [[Merion, Pennsylvania|Merion Station]], [[Pennsylvania]] 19066
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In 2005, the building was purchased and renovated as '''Chabad of the Main Line''', an Orthodox Jewish congregation that practices in the [[Chabad|Chabad-Lubavitch]] rite. Located on the [[Philadelphia Main Line]], the congregation converted the former tavern into a synagogue and [[community center]].<ref name=chabadmainline>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabadmainline.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/110962/jewish/General-Wayne-Inn.htm |title=General Wayne Inn |publisher=Chabad-Lubavitch of The Main Line |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503175016/http://www.chabadmainline.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/110962/jewish/General-Wayne-Inn.htm |date=2012 |archivedate=2012-05-03 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chabadmainline.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/2542145/jewish/About-Chabad-of-The-Main-Line.htm |title=About us |work=Chabad of the Main Line |date=2023 |access-date=November 26, 2023 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading==
* {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://www.weirdus.com/states/pennsylvania/ghosts/general_wayne/index.php |title=Weird Pennsylvania: Your Travel Guide to Pennsylvania's Local Legends and Best-Kept Secrets |chapter=Hessian Mercenaries Haunt General Wayne Inn |first=Matt |last=Lake |publisher=Sterling Publishing Co. |date=2005 |isbn=978-1-4027-3279-9}}

==External links==
*{{official website|https://www.chabadmainline.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/2542145/jewish/About-Chabad-of-The-Main-Line.htm|Chabad of the Main Line official website}}
*{{HABS |survey=PA-144 |id=pa0632 |title=General Anthony Wayne Inn, 625 Montgomery Avenue, Narberth, Montgomery County, PA |photos=1 |supp=yes}}

{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania}}
{{Synagogues in the United States}}

[[Category:Taverns in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Taverns in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:1704 establishments in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:American Revolutionary War sites]]
[[Category:Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1704]]
[[Category:Orthodox synagogues in Pennsylvania|Chabad of the Main Line]]
[[Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Reportedly haunted locations in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Synagogues completed in 2005|Chabad of the Main Line]]
[[Category:Jewish organizations established in 2005|Chabad of the Main Line]]
[[Category:2005 establishments in Pennsylvania|Chabad of the Main Line]]
[[Category:21st-century synagogues in the United States|Chabad of the Main Line]]