The American Hotel was a historic hotel located at 125 South Augusta Street in
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...
. It was built in the downtown wharf district, directly across from the
railroad station
A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such ...
. It has since been repainted and houses several different businesses. Earlier in its existence, the hotel had a set of two pillars in the front of the building.
History
In the late 1800s the Wharf area of Staunton was the site of the
Virginia Central Railroad
The Virginia Central Railroad was an early railroad in the U.S. state of Virginia that operated between 1850 and 1868 from Richmond westward for to Covington. Chartered in 1836 as the Louisa Railroad by the Virginia General Assembly, the railr ...
which crossed the
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...
to Staunton, thus completing its route between the
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...
and the state Capital in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
. The American Hotel was constructed by the Virginia Central Railroad in 1855, only one year after the railroad had reached Staunton.
During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, the hotel served as a "receiving hospital" for Confederate sick and wounded. In 1864, when
Union General Hunter
David Hunter (July 21, 1802 – February 2, 1886) was an American military officer. He served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He achieved notability for his unauthorized 1862 order (immediately rescinded) emancipating slaves ...
occupied Staunton and burned the station, the American Hotel was spared, probably because the owner,
John Quincy Adams Nadenbousch
John Quincy Adams Nadenbousch (31 October 1824 – 13 September 1892) was a businessman, Confederate officer during the American Civil War and local politician in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
Early life
Born in Berkeley County, Virginia (later ...
, had developed a relationship with Union officers.
In the first year of his presidency,
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
took a brief vacation trip to White Sulphur Springs stopping overnight in Staunton at the American Hotel. When the news of his arrival spread, a music band that had previously served as
Stonewall Jackson
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general and military officer who served during the American Civil War. He played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the eastern the ...
’s headquarters band assembled at the station opposite his Hotel room and serenaded Grant. Grant came out on hotel balcony and acknowledged the band by raising his hat. The incident was one of the first public acts of reconciliation after the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
.
The Staunton Development Company was on the west end of the building in 1891 and the rest of the building was a shoe factory. Staunton Development Company wanted to renovate and update the Hotel in the Victorian style but did not have the finances.
In 1894, the American Hotel became Bowling Spotts & Co, a wholesale grocery. They were receivers over all the railroad systems of the country, from California to the Atlantic Coast. They specialized in the handling of