Built in 1860, the Exchange Hotel and Civil War Medical Museum is located in the downtown area of Gordonsville, Virginia. Access is off the Zion Crossroads Exit of I-64, which I take to go home, and cuts across central Virginia between Richmond and Staunton. The exit is close to Charlottesville.
The hotel is considered haunted, and they have private and public “ghost tour” investigation group events.
Unfortunately, visitors are denied photography and so I only have a few images. The old hotel with its high ceiling parlors and grand veranda welcomed passengers from the two rail lines: the Virginia Central Railroad and the Orange & Alexandria Railroad. Soon after the completion of the hotel, the Civil War began. Troops, supplies, and wounded were transported on these railroads to Gordonsville. The Exchange Hotel became the Gordonsville Receiving Hospital which provided care for 70,000 soldiers, both Confederate and Union.
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 returned to its role of hotel. Now fully restored, the hotel is a museum dedicated to and houses an extensive collection of medical and historical artifacts.
Parking is ample and free. The museum is closed on Sunday, Monday and Thursday and open the other days from 10AM to 4PM. Admission is $14 Adults, $5 Children (5-10), and free for children under 5. The address for your GPS is 400 S Main St, Gordonsville, VA 22942
