Richmond Times-Dispatch
Sunday, September 3, 2006

Seven hundred Confederate soldiers and 28 Union soldiers died on the grounds of the former Civil War hospital. Perhaps their souls were still wandering up and down the creaky wooden staircase, she explained, setting up her own ghost story.

Chapman had just arrived for work one morning and was on her way to the tavern room when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a shadow.

"I thought, yew, what is that," she said.  It was dark, and Chapman was all alone.  She took a few steps back, looked over her shoulder and saw -- a mirror.  "I was spooked by myself," she laughed.

All joking aside, they say the hospital, located by the railroad tracks, treated about 70,000 Union and Confederate soldiers and remains haunted.

In fact, according to Chapman, the tourist attraction is listed among America's most haunted places by the Travel Channel. Inside the museum, in addition to other historic war and medical memorabilia, is the "official" paperwork listing the 1860 building as No. 8 of the top 15 haunted places in the United States.

The ghosts, as much as the town's new shops and restaurants, have helped Gordonsville attract what Bob Hoffman, owner of Sweetwater Country Home, calls the "day tourist."

"This place is changing a lot for sure," he said from the office of his shop, which specializes in home decor and other furniture made from wine barrels.  "The buildings have been upgraded, and a different style of people are coming in," he said.  Those who live and work here say it couldn't have happened at a better time.

"This town was a breath away from death," said Neil Morris, assistant chef at Pomme, a widely acclaimed French-Provencal restaurant on Main Street. "It was about to disappear. It was a ghost town."

The town, about 25 miles east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, was once a stopping place for travelers. It sits at the intersection of U.S. 15 and U.S. 33.  "There were traveling salesmen and just visitors," Chapman said, adding that the museum has also served as a railroad hotel.

The town's name is tied to the Beale family, which operated a tavern there. One of the Beale daughters married a Gordon, and in 1787 the Gordon Inn opened, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch story published in the 1950s.

The community, built around the Gordon Inn, came to be known as Gordonsville.

Although passenger trains have long since ceased running through Gordonsville, the town of about 1,500 residents is experiencing what some call a renaissance.

John Edwards of Country Garden Antiques says the revitalization is reminiscent of a European town with upscale specialty shops.  "We are in the middle of hunt country," he said of one of the town's obvious draws.

About 15 miles east of Charlottesville, Gordonsville is in Orange County. It has its own library and post office on Main Street.  For those traveling through Virginia's wine country (Barboursville Vineyards is less than 6 miles away), there is plenty to do besides scare yourself.  Visitors can stop in and check out about a dozen locally owned shops and restaurants.

A handful of the stores are geared toward gardeners. They include Country Gardens, which sells English and American garden ornaments and antiques, the Gentle Gardener and Colonial Florist.

There are bed and breakfasts in addition to inns and the well-known Shenandoah Crossing Resort. In addition to Pomme and the Toliver House Restaurant, both offering gourmet fare, there are local favorites such as Mama's Subs & More on Main Street and, on U.S. 15 North, the Inwood Restaurant.

For the fashion-conscious, there's S.H. Merrick LLC Fashion and Interiors, which sells exclusive European designs. Other retail shops include Old Somerset Print Shop & Fine Art Gallery, The Odd Chest antiques and furniture, Homespun's folk art and home decor and Limerick Fibers, which specializes in knitting, weaving and felting products.

Many of the changes coming to Gordonsville stem in large part from the Gupton family, which purchased many of the buildings along downtown Main Street and are trying to restore the former railroad town to its original splendor.

Shop and restaurant owners, who lease space from the Guptons, have signed on to the plan.  "We are trying to bring life to a quiet town," said Guillaume Gasparini, who owns the Pomme restaurant with his father and executive chef, Gerard Gasparini.

Members of the Old Dominion Model A Ford Club of Richmond call Gordonsville the perfect place to go for a ride. They head there about four times a year.  About a dozen of the groupies traveled through the town last week, stopping for a snack at the downtown Tastee Freez.

Gordonsville's revitalization has been fueled by several economic investments, including a major one by PBM Products, which makes and distributes infant formula and pharmaceutical products. PBM moved its headquarters to Main Street in the 1990s.

In addition, Wal-Mart has built a distribution center nearby.

Garrick Gupton, who has spent the past seven years working alongside his father to update the buildings along Main Street, said his parents fell in love with the area, purchased a home here and decided to spruce up the downtown.

"It was a side project," he said.

But in some cases, the town may literally have to rise from the ashes.  Last weekend, apartments above Pomme caught fire, forcing the restaurant to close temporarily.  Pomme normally boasts an exclusive French menu for dinner, lunch and Sunday brunch, and attracts diners from Charlottesville, Richmond and beyond.  Employees said they hope to reopen soon, certainly within two months.

Gordonsville offers plenty of options for folks who aren't necessarily craving gourmet fare.  In addition to the familiar Tastee Freez, visitors can also stop by Mama's Subs & More for homemade chili, meatballs and freshly made subs.

Christa Poehl, who opened Mama's with her husband, Karl Poehl, in January, said all the recipes have been passed down from mothers in the family.  "We wanted to open a place and dedicate it to our moms," she said.  Pictures of the Poehls' mothers and grandmothers line the walls.  "We don't follow recipes, and we don't take any measurements," she said. 

As part of Poehl's marketing niche, she offers treats to four-legged friends in addition to those who can order on their own.  She calls them puppy cups, filled with vanilla ice cream and doggy biscuits. Buster and Britney, two boxers, couldn't get enough of them last week.  "At Mama's," Poehl said, "you get a treat with every meal."

At the Exchange Hotel, the tour will cost adults $6 dollars, but the frights are free.  Lynn Compton, vice president and historian at the museum, has been giving tours at the museum for about six years.

She has stories of her own.  "One time," she said. "I was giving a tour on the second floor and I heard a loud crash. Later, I went up to the third floor and everything was fine. But the manager had heard the same thing. It was like wood striking wood."  And that's not all.  She has heard footsteps, too.  "But no one is there," she said.

Some claim to have experienced sightings. Compton can't explain it.  "There are definitely some unusual things going on," she said.

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