Exchange Hotel (Gordonsville, Virginia)

Exchange Hotel

Exchange Hotel, August 2008
Location S. Main St., Gordonsville, Virginia
Coordinates 38°8′7″N 78°11′11″W / 38.13528°N 78.18639°W / 38.13528; -78.18639Coordinates: 38°8′7″N 78°11′11″W / 38.13528°N 78.18639°W / 38.13528; -78.18639
Built 1860
Architect Benjamin F. Faulconer
Architectural style Greek Revival
NRHP Reference # 73002046[1]
VLR # 225-0008
Significant dates
Added to NRHP August 14, 1973
Designated VLR July 17, 1973[2]

The Exchange Hotel in Gordonsville, Virginia, was built in 1860 for Richard F. Omohundro next to an important railroad junction, when the Exchange Hotel offered a welcome stopping place for weary passengers on the Virginia Central Railroad.[3]

Civil War

In March 1862, because of its strategic location, the Exchange Hotel became part of the Gordonsville Receiving Hospital, admitting more than 23,000 sick and wounded in less than a year. The wounded and dying from nearby battlefields such as Cedar Mountain, Chancellorsville, Trevilian Station, Mine Run, Brandy Station, and the Wilderness were brought by the trainloads. Although this was primarily a Confederate facility, the hospital treated the wounded from both sides. Twenty-six Union soldiers died here. By war's end more than 70,000 men had been treated at the Gordonsville Receiving Hospital and just over 700 would be buried on its surrounding grounds. The scene of untold agony and death, the building survived the conflict.[3]

After the war

In the reconstruction period, this hospital served the newly freed slaves as a Freedman's Bureau Hospital. As the United States healed and the railroads boomed, this graceful building again became a hotel and enjoyed a fine reputation until the 1940s when it went into decline.[3]

Museum

Historic Gordonsville, Inc. acquired and restored the property in 1971. The museum contains many artifacts from the Civil War era, like medical artifacts, uniforms and firearms. The museum also houses a bookstore. It is located in the Gordonsville Historic District.

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Information on the Exchange Hotel from the NPS website


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