Rediscovering America_ Exploring the Small Towns of Virginia & Maryland - Bill Burnham [72]
In 2002, the first memorial to a non-president was dedicated on the National Mall in Washington DC. The larger-than-life bronze statue of George Mason is surrounded by stone walls inscribed with his portentous words. Appropriately, the memorial has a re-created 18th-century historic garden, near the area known as the Pansy Garden.
Gunston Hall Plantation is open daily 9:30 am to 5 pm with tours on the half hour. Admission charged (10709 Gunston Road, Mason Neck, tel. 800-811-6966, http://GunstonHall.org)
Warrenton
Around Town
A set of stocks greets visitors to Warrenton at the Old Jail Museum – or “Gaol” as the sign outside reads. The 1808 jail has been restored to more or less how it looked before the “new” and larger jail was built next door in 1823. In the Old Kitchen three layers of plaster were removed to expose a fabulous brick fireplace that was used to cook for the prisoners. Inside the hearth it was found that whoever walled it up had thrown in some treasures – iron lamps, utensils and even cast iron pots with blackened food still inside. The Old Jail is said to have a resident ghost, an elderly man who died there while a prisoner. Docent Leona Keen says she’s never seen him, but she has heard strange noises.
The museum tells the history of The Warren Green Hotel, which now houses school board and county offices. Before closing in 1960, the guest list read like a who’s who of American history: General Lafayette in 1825, presidents James Monroe, Andrew Jackson and Theodore Roosevelt. Here, General McClellan said good-bye to his troops after President Lincoln relieved him of his command, and Henry Clay announced his candidacy for president.
Scandal sells, and it is an infamous guest who probably garnered the most attention. In order to get a quiet divorce in a small town, Wallis Warfield set up temporary residency in the hotel in 1927. Originally from Baltimore, she had friends in Fauquier County from her boarding school days. In the year she lived here, she carried on a relationship with her next husband, Earnest Simpson. By the mid-1930s she was seeing the Prince of Wales, and we all know where that led – to the King of England abdicating his throne to marry an American divorcee. She may have been fickle in love, but Simpson kept her ties to Warrenton. The couple returned for a visit in 1941 as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
We were told old-school Warrentonians don’t really like to flaunt such notoriety. They like things relatively quiet and conservative. When an Irish pub opened in 2001 on Main Street, it caused quite a flutter because it was one of the first bars to open on Main Street since World War II, when many lined the street. The movie theater was closed down in 1971 when Marlon Brando’s Last Tango In Paris shocked the community.
Several other pubs and bistros have opened as well, and the Old Town that once rolled up its sidewalks at 5 pm with all shops closed on Sundays now brings in night and weekend crowds – people who want to have a drink and hear live music. Main Street is a happening and busy place during the week, with businesspeople going to lunch, and lawyers and police officers coming to and from the courthouse. On the weekends diners and shoppers patronize the more than 50 antiques shops, boutiques, restaurants, coffee shops, ice cream parlors and art galleries.
It seems everything that an American Main Street should be. Yet there’s a nice dash – just enough – of the sophisticated and hip. The local newspaper has called it “Little Georgetown.”
A walking tour of Warrenton’s historic area starts at the Old Jail Museum. Inside the jail are exhibits on the county’s history and visitor information. It is open Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-4 pm Admission is free, but donations