Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 42

Upper: The Bolling Wilson Hotel was restored
to its Roaring '20s glory after years as a bank.
Lower: Marion's Lincoln Theatre stands next to
the General Francis Marion Hotel.

ing mountains. A Great Gatsby style
wedding has already been scheduled
to capitalize upon this beauty and
the hotel's Roaring Twenties origin
when it was the place to hold a ball,
cut a business deal, and found
Wytheville's Iron Boots social club.
Owners Farron and Bill Smith
believe the National Historic
Register hotel and Virginia's only
42 BlueRidgeCountry.com

birthplace museum of a first lady
will pull travelers off interstates 81
and 77. From the hotel, you can
saunter under Wytheville Office
Supply's giant pencil to explore
antique shops, boutiques, craft outlets, and a state surplus store.
If you like history, walk two
blocks to Thomas J. Boyd Museum
and Haller-Gibboney Rock House.
The Boyd Museum hosts exhibits on
the Civil War's Stonewall Brigade
Union Colonel Toland's ill-fated
raid on Wytheville, in which a few
dozen boys and older people managed to kill Toland and save the railroad from Union destruction. The
museum allows visitors to don replica uniforms for selfies. Another
exhibit documents the 1950 polio
epidemic. The 1823 HallerGibboney Rock House next door
interprets life and customs of the
times. For information, see museums.wytheville.org or call
276-223-3330.
The hotel's neighboring
museum discloses a startling fact:
this country already has seen its
first woman president and she was
born in Wytheville. Edith Bolling
Wilson took over much presidential responsibility, issuing decisions on behalf of her husband,
President Woodrow Wilson, after
his stroke. Edith Wilson was born

in 1872 in a room over today's
Skeeter's Famous Hot Dogs, and
her birthplace museum exhibits
such items as the bed she shared
with her grandmother. For more
information, visit www.edithbollingwilson.org or call
276-228-8474.
For nightlife, follow
Wytheville's live music trail - oldtime musicians jam down the
block at Old Stage Mall Thursday
evenings and nearby on other
nights. (see visitwytheville.com/
live-music!.html) Over at
Wohlfahrt Haus Dinner Theatre,
the rock 'n' roll era lingers, interspersed with country and gospel.
Music, dancing, fabulous costumes, and tasty regional fare
served by actors make the theater a
magical evening. For reservations,
call 888-950-3382.
Bolling Wilson Hotel
170 E. Main St., Wytheville, VA
276-223-2333; www.bollingwilsonhotel.com

Saturday: Marion's General
Francis Marion
Marion lies only 30 miles south, so
you have the luxury of heading in
the opposite direction, especially
between April and November when
Fort Chiswell Animal Park and Fort
Chiswell Mansion are open. Located
two miles off I-81 at Exit 80, the zoological park feels like a flash trip to
another continent. But, with wallabies, wildebeests, camels, ostriches
and other exotics, it's hard to determine which continent. Visitors
board a striped bus, feeding zoo
chow to critters who poke their
heads through the windows. For
more information, call 276-637-6754
or visit fortchiswellanimalpark.com.
For lunch, hang a right onto
Factory Outlet Drive to Fort Chiswell
Mansion. The 1840 manor boasts
three levels of sumptuously furnished rooms, accessed by a central

http://www.edithbollingwilson.org http://www.edithbollingwilson.org http://www.visitwytheville.com/ http://www.bollingwilsonhotel.com http://www.bollingwilsonhotel.com http://museums.wytheville.org http://museums.wytheville.org http://www.fortchiswellanimalpark.com http://www.BlueRidgeCountry.com

Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015