Built 1860 VLR # 225-0008 Opened 1860 | NRHP Reference # 73002046 Designated VLR July 17, 1973 Added to NRHP 14 August 1973 | |
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Location S. Main St., Gordonsville, Virginia Architectural style Greek Revival architecture Similar The Exchange Hotel Civi, Mayhurst, James Madison Museum, Montpelier, Ellwood Manor | ||
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.
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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.
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.
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.