By Jayne E. Blair Nathaniel Gordon was born on August 20, 1763, to Col. James Gordon and Mary Harrison in Merry Point, Virginia and died February 28, 1820. He rests in Maplewood Cemetery located in Gordonsville Virginia. On his tombstone, it states “Founder of Gordonsville 1787.” On April 14, 1787, Gordon purchased 1,350 acres from John Whitaker Willis, a relative of James Madison,i paying “one thousand and fifty pounds of the present curt (currency) of Virginia.ii” This location presented a great opportunity for Gordon as it was at the crossroads of a major travel route, the Fredericksburg Road, and the Richmond Road. It was here that he would build his home calling it “Newville.iii” Soon, this area was teaming with dependencies, other buildings, and individuals. In addition to the outside kitchen, there was a granary and a stable. Across the road was a dairy and further away a barn and a corn house. Gordon had approximately twenty slaves to not only work the farm and care for the livestock, but also to work as house servants. In 1794, Nathaniel Gordon applied for and was able to obtain a license from the county to open a tavern at this location. Most taverns of the era also provided room and board for the weary traveler. Very soon Gordon’s Tavern became a stop on the stage line that ran from south to north (Charlottesville through Orange Court House on to Fredericksburg) via the Fredericksburg Road and the west – east route (Shenandoah Valley through Louisa and on to Richmond) via the Richmond Road. Soon the tavern acquired many other names including Gordon’s Tavern, the Gordon House, or the Gordon Inn. Gordon enlarged his home by the addition of a wing in 1802.iv President Jefferson often told people traveling by way of Gordonsville on their way to Washington, the new Capitol of the United States, to stop by the Gordon Inn as it was a “good house.v” Many noteworthy individuals did follow Jefferson’s advice and stopped by Gordonsville visiting the Gordon Tavern, some spending the night upstairs at the Gordon Inn. The list of visitors included not only Thomas Jefferson, but also James Monroe, James Madison, James and Philip Barbour, James Waddell, William Wirt, Henry Clay and even the Marquis de Lafayette on his visit to the area in 1824. On February 2, 1813, Nathaniel Gordon became postmaster of the newly created post office which would become known as Gordonsville, named after the postmaster. At the time, post offices were created to keep pace with the area’s population and to satisfy merchants that had to travel long distances to receive any mail whatsoever.vi Gordon died on February 28, 1820, at the age of fifty-six. By the time of Gordon’s death, the little town of Gordonsville was growing. It now consisted of the post office, a grocery store, a blacksmith shop, and several homes including a lavish home built by Dr. Charles Beale. Dr. Beale had married Gordon’s daughter Mary and purchase land near his father-in-law. Gordon’s son John N. Gordon took over the business, but within a few short years, the tavern shut done and the property was put up for sale. By 1830, the tavern had become a private residence when it
was purchased by Martin Baker who would establish a boy’s preparatory school. At the time, the property consisted of not only the residence but also its dependencies and “other buildings which make up Old Gordonsville.vii” By 1831, Baker had been appointed Postmaster for the Gordonsville area. In the mid-1850s, William Kemper purchased the Gordon Inn and continued with idea of running a boy’s school. His cousin was James Lawson Kemper, who though a lawyer in Madison and Orange kept his hand in education and often visited the school. It is believed that around 1853 “the roof of the original tavern wing was raised to provide for two full stories.viii The house would eventually have 21 rooms. Kemper’s school closed after only four years. In 1857, he put the Gordon House up for sale along with its dependencies and twenty-eight acres of land. The place stood now on both sides Main Street and the main road to Orange Court House. The following year, “a distinguished school of long standing in Alexandriaix” came up for sale and Kemper jumped on it. Mrs. Mary E. Barbour, the daughter-in-law of Philip P. Barbour of the nearby home known as Frascati, purchased the place. She was by now a widow with four children. One of her daughters, Miss Jennie Barbour set up and ran her “Select School for Girls” out of the house. The school continued until the early 1900s. The property would remain with the family until 1935. In the late 1840s, the Louisa Railroad came to Gordonsville and would soon be joined by the Orange and Alexandria in 1854. Trains ran north to south while others would run east to west. Where the tracks crossed in Gordonsville, the Exchange Hotel was built in 1860 providing a stop over and resting place for those who had to switch trains to continue to their destination. With the onset of the Civil War, Gordonsville provided a major communication center for the Army of Northern Virginia. In 1862, the Confederate Government took possession of the Exchange Hotel and converted it into the Gordonsville Receiving and Forwarding Hospital where soldiers could be treated either for disease or injuries. By the end of the war, over 70,000 men had been treated at the Hospital. The Town of Gordonsville was now anchored between the Gordon House holding the north part of Main Street while the hospital held the south part of the town. In 1878, Charles Beale Linney, grandson of Dr. Charles Beale, built his house “just below the present traffic circle and within site of the Gordon Tavernx.” It had often been reported that Mr. Linney was quite smitten with Miss Jennie Barbour and thought that this would eventually become their home. But that was not to be. Mr. Linney was a frequent visitor to the Gordon Inn, but he was also a generous benefactor to many civic organizations in the county. Orange County saw the two hundredth anniversary of its founding in 1934 with elaborate celebrations from September 25th to the 28th. On Wednesday, September 26, at 10:45 AM a reception was held at the Gordon Inn attended by numerous individuals including Thomas P Somerville and Mrs. Mary Barbour Shannon, great grandchildren of Justice Phillip Pendleton Barbour of Frascati, and Thomas Barbour, George W. Barbour, Mrs. C.H.B. Ellis, Mrs. J.C. Graves and Mrs. W.G. Christian, grandchildren of Governor James Barbour of Barboursville. Dr.
John W. Wayland, the noted historian of the Shenandoah Valley, was the guest speaker. An article in the Orange County News reported that the Gordon Inn “is one of the oldest and most historical homes in the State” and “vies with Montpelier and Monticello in historical significance.xi”
The following year, 1935, the Gordon Inn had fallen in disrepair and was looking for a new owner to take charge. By now, the Gordon Inn was in terrible shape and The Golden Horseshoe Chapter of the D.A.R. and its Chapter President Mattie Leitch Scott, the wife of Coast Guard Commander Philip Henshaw Scott made a proposal to her chapter to not only repair the Inn but also to purchase it. (See enclosed letters to Mrs. P.H. Scott).
Mrs. Scott’s effort, though temporarily successful, failed after a few years. The Inn was purchased by Mrs. George Zinn and Mrs. Charles T. Neale, of Orange County, who later sold it to James W. Halley, of Orange, and Garland Shuler of Somerset. They were, it is, “believed planning to demolish the building and erect a modern tourist court on the site.xii”
Over the next few years, the Gordon Inn continued to decline as it was left alone and abandoned. The building became an eyesore as the county and the Town of Gordonsville were attempting to grow financially by attracting new businesses. It was decided by the town leaders that the Gordon Inn/Tavern must go. It was announced in the Orange Review on February 8, 1947, that the Historical Gordon Inn was going to be torn done, saying that “the passing of this old
landmark is worthy of extended notice” and ending the article saying “It was a quaint and historic old place with an air of charm. It is with regret that the county notes its passing.xiii”
i The property had been owned by Ambrose Madison, the grandfather of President James Madison. Upon the death of Ambrose Madison in 1732, the land went to his daughter Elizabeth who had married Richard Beale. Afterwards the land was given to their daughter Ann Beale who married Joh Whitaker Willis.
ii Orange County Deed Book 19, Page 93.
iii Ann Miller, Antebellum Orange: The Pre-Civil War Homes, Public Buildings and Historic Sites of Orange County, Virginia, Orange County Historical Society, Orange Virginia 1988, (41).
iv Ibid (42).
v Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, (1940) Vol. 48, (99).
vi Web Site – www.Piedmontsub.com/Gville.shtml.
vii Thomas, William H.B., Gordonsville, Virginia: Historic Crossroads Town, Green Publishers, 1980 (28).
viii Ibid.(30).
ix Ibid. (31).
x Ibid. (81).
xi Orange County News September 20, 1934.
xii Orange Review, February 2, 1947.
xiii Ibid.