Cooperative Living October 2016 - 17

(Above) Built in 1859, the stately Exchange Hotel served passengers on the Virginia Central
Railroad. In 1862 the hotel was converted to Gordonsville Receiving Hospital, where 70,000
patients were treated. It is the only receiving hospital still standing in Virginia. (Inset top) This
amputation kit included a large serrated saw used for cutting large bones, such as femurs. This
kit belonged to Gordonsville's Dr. John W. Scott, and was used in the Civil War. (Inset bottom)
Angel May, administrator/vice-president of Historic Gordonsville, Inc., at The Exchange Hotel.
The Civil War Medical Museum at the Exchange Hotel,
400 South Main Street, Gordonsville, Virginia
Built in 1859, the stately Exchange
Hotel was so named because passengers
on the adjacent Virginia Central
Railroad stopped in Gordonsville to
exchange tickets for the remainder of
their journeys. Steam-powered trains
could refuel with wood for their
fireboxes, and weary passengers could
spend the night at the hotel.
Everything changed in 1862 when
the hotel was taken over by the Army
of the Confederacy during the Civil
War, becoming Gordonsville Receiving
Hospital. From 1862-1865, 70,000
people were treated at the hotel
turned hospital.
Historic Gordonsville, Inc., has
owned the site since 1971. Angel May,
administrator/vice-president, notes,
" Because it was a receiving hospital,
patients only stayed three days. It was a
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triage hospital. Once they [patients] were
well enough, they were usually sent to a
hospital in Richmond. "
Amazingly, there were only 900 deaths.
More than 700 people were originally
buried on the property, but many graves
were moved after the war. The hospital's
low mortality rates were credited to the
use of sterile bedding, medicinal plants
and homeopathic remedies.
Today, over 6,000 people annually
visit the National Historic Landmark
and the only receiving hospital still
standing in Virginia. Visitors browse the
medical-artifacts collection, learn some
American history, and look for ghosts.
Among the site's ghosts are gravedigger
George Plant and Annie May, a freed slave
who worked at the hotel while slavery was
still in practice.
" She was 4 feet 11 inches tall and mean
as a snake. Photos and EVPs have been
captured of her, " May says of Annie.
Listed on numerous " haunted
places " lists, the Exchange Hotel has
been featured on TV's My Ghost Story,
The Haunting, and a BBC show called
The Hairy Bikers. In October the
Exchange Hotel celebrates the fifth
anniversary of " Halloween Scarefest. "
Held the last three weekends in
October, it combines candlelight tours
with " haunted attractions " on the
grounds. Admission is $10 for adults,
$3 for children, plus special-attraction
admission fees.
" We had 2,500 people attend last
year. We hope to double that this year, "
May says.
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(540) 832-2944
October 2016 | Cooperative Living | 15

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Cooperative Living October 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living October 2016