Dozen Distinctive Destinations
Staunton, VA
Year Listed: 2001
A cultural center in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, Staunton, Virginia, is delightfully situated between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains. Because the town was unscathed in the Civil War, its 18th and 19th century buildings survived and have been beautifully restored and preserved in this "Queen City." Scottish-Irish immigrant John Lewis built the first homestead in 1732, in the area that became Staunton. After the Virginia Central Railroad arrived in Staunton, it became a transportation hub of western Virginia in the mid-1850s. At about the same time, Woodrow Wilson was born in a Staunton home that has since become the Woodrow Wilson Museum, dedicated to the country's 28th president.
Staunton's remarkable 250-year history is visible in its five National Historic Districts. Gospel Hill is a neighborhood of elegant homes where religious meetings were held in the 1790s. Stuart Addition is a diverse neighborhood adjoining the campus of Mary Baldwin College, with many buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Newtown dates to 1787 and includes the historic Trinity Church and the city's first African-American church. Beverly is the 19th century area that contains downtown Staunton's finest collections of Victorian architecture. The Wharf District was the town's center of commerce during the boom years of the 19th century railroads, where produce and supply warehouses were built around the train depot. In these five historic districts are dozens of antique and gift shops, restaurants, art galleries, and bed and breakfast inns. Museums range from the Frontier Culture Museum illustrating the lifestyles of early European settlers to the area, to the museum of distinguished artist P. Buckley Moss and several collections of military artifacts. Outdoor attractions include a farmers' market and the Andre Viette Gardens, the largest collection of perennial flowers in the eastern United States. Regularly scheduled musical performances reflect the town's legacy with concerts of jazz, folk, and other music by American composers. A new Shakespearean Theater is being built downtown. The Historic Staunton Foundation received a National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for its dedication to historic preservation in 1983, and Staunton has been a Main Street Community since 1995.
