Gordonsville Exchange Hotel: A Civil War Icon in Danger

In the quiet little town of Gordonsville, Virginia there lies an important piece of a our history. As a Civil War icon, the Gordonsville Exchange Hotel stands on a little hill over looking the railroad tracks that have carried cargo and people from place to place for over a 100 years. Standing in its shadow is the original Gordonsville Train Depot. Although it is not in it's original spot (it had to be moved back from the tracks for safety purposes) it is in excellent condition compared to many other train depots that have gone unused for many years.

The Gordonsville Exchange Hotel started out as a beautiful rest stop for people to stay anywhere from a few hours while waiting for their next room, to staying a few night. As people would arrive by train to the town of Gordonsville, they would be greeted by a 3-story grand house surrounded by beautiful flower gardens and shrubbery. Unfortunately, this is a scene that only last a few short years before the Civil War broke out.

In 1862 the hotel was converted by the Confederacy into a hospital that was utilized by both the Yankees and the Confederates. As the war continued so did the grisly scenes of amputations, makeshift triage tents, and piled up bodies of the dead. The hospital was overseen by Dr. Lebby who also roomed in the 3rd floor of the hospital. His room is set up in a similar fashion to how it would have looked during his stay.

Following the Civil War the hotel remained open as the Freedman's Bureau Hospital of Gordonsville for newly freed slaves in need of assistance. In 1971 the property was purchased by Historic Gordonsville, Inc. In 1973, it made the National Registry of Historic Places. In 2002, it was named as an African-American Memorial Site.

Recently, we at Wayward were informed that the hotel and it's beautiful veranda's were at risk for being closed. You see, it costs over $50,000 a year to keep this wonderful piece of history open and running. As of now, the hotel is not meeting it's revenue projections. There are ways you can help to keep this iconic building open to the public.

1. If you are into the paranormal sign up for the nightly ghost walk tours. They are truly unique experiences and you won't be disappointed.

2. Visit and make a donation.

3. Spread the word.

Thank you for helping us protect this beloved building and the history within.

House on Woodland Church Road

Hey there fellow searchers! We finally got to do another investigation. This one was at a private residence in Culpeper, Virginia. What we found were a host of phenomena that were neither malevolent or dangerous. This was comforting to the residents of the home and I'm happy to report that they are at peace with whatever presences there are.

While on this investigation we got to try out some new tools. We tried out a new laser grid and Dowsing Rods. The Dowsing Rods are really cool as not only are they good for finding water, but they can help you speak with animals and with spirits. We tried them out and they worked out wonderfully.

We also had some new faces helping us out this time. Jonathon Butler, Jason's son, and Gretchen Zwerner, a good friend of mine. They were so wonderful and helpful. Gretchen worked with the Dowsing Rods as she has experience in using them. She taught us how to use them while doing this. Jonathon did a great job of reviewing EVP's and video. We look forward to them joining us again in the future. Three people of our team were ill and unable to join us this time. We also look forward to them being on the next investigation.

In the meantime, check out the evidence page for some pics and great videos. You'll be both shocked and amazed.

New Video by Jason

Some Personal Experiences at Exchange Hotel

Hello everyone! I'm sorry that I haven't updated recently. The last month has been a little hectic with my son's and Brandy's son's birthday. But here are some of the personal experiences that our team had at the hotel.

Brandy: While in the lady's parlor, Brandy sat on the rose colored couch. As she conducted another EVP session, something decided to get her attention. Brandy felt her hair get pulled by someone behind the couch. Nothing appeared to be there. Could it have been the little girl being playful? Who knows, but it was welcomed as proof.

Jason and Steve: Jason and Steve conducted an EVP session in the old train depot. Just as they heard the train approaching, Jason stated "here comes the train, you'd better get ready". The EVP session revealed a woman saying "I don't feel very well". This was not heard by Jason or Steve during the session. As the train passed the depot, the station "came to life". Disembodied voices of past travelers filled the air around them. They described it as sounding like Grand Central Station with all the chatter.

Justin: While investigating the 3rd floor at the beginning of the evening, Justin got the sickening feeling that he was not welcome there. Justin is not one to spook easily, so if he has the feeling of being unwanted, it's a real feeling.

These are just a few of the personal experiences from that night. It's important to remember that everyone's experiences are different. Even though one person may experience a hair pull doesn't necessarily mean the next person will.

Gordonsville Exchange Hotel: 1st Floor Photo Tour

Still Photo's from the first floor Main House
Photo's and video by Brandy

Gordonsville Exchange Hotel: 2nd Floor Photo Tour

A video compiled of still photo's taken on the 2nd floor.
Photos and video by Brandy

We've Received 2 Awards!

Both of these were awarded to us on our Facebook page!

Gordonsville Exchange Hotel: The Experiences

Little Ghost Girl

The evening of March 5th started out breezy and comfortable. We toured the premises (as described in the previous blog) and had some awesome experiences. I must say that this is truly a great place to gather paranormal evidence and show that there is a link between our world and the spirit world. Some of our experiences were a little scary and others were enlightening. We experienced emotions of the past, residual haunting, ghostly communication, and physical phenomena. I covered some of these experiences in the previous post, but that was only a taste of what the evening had to offer.
Over the next week I will be adding personal experiences from each of the 3 areas that we investigated. In the meantime, take a close look at the the little girl in the picture above. We are trying to determine, with the help of Chris and Patty at the Gordonsville Exchange Hotel, who this little may have been. This was the last picture in a series of 6 pictures shot 4 seconds apart. This is the last shot of the evening that she appears in. What makes this picture even more credible is that Brandy caught the same picture at the same time.
Now you may say its a curtain making that shape or a person standing in the door window. Let me assure you that no living human or curtain was in that window during the time the picture was taken. It was not a glare either. This is a true picture.
Look closely and you can make our her hair and hair color, the color of her nightgown, her face, and her feet. It is truly amazing at what is around us, yet so many are not aware of the presence.

Gordonsville Exchange Hotel: The Tour

9:21pm  Well, we finished our initial tour of the main hotel, the kitchen building, and the train depot. Got a lot of activity all ready. Men talking on the 3rd floor. Thousands of people rushing around us at the depot when the train went by. We heard a whistle in the train room. Really cool. More soon!

10:39pm  Cameras are set up. Getting ready to start.

12:38pm  We've completed some investigation of the 3rd floor and the 2nd floor. Justin went to the 3rd floor alone but only stayed about 15 minutes. He came down because he didn't feel welcome. During that time, Brandy and I did an EVP session in the Mourning Room. We got several hits using the voice box (a box that allows spirits to communicate directly to you). We learned of Emma Woods, a freed black woman who was a teacher. She spoke the words "letters" "south" "apple" "teacher". We found out that Emma had mailed letters south to her family telling them about being a teacher. We didn't know Emma's last name until after this session. Another name that came up was John Mallory. We aren't totally sure of who he was except that he was a soldier.
Our 2nd round began upstairs with Justin, Brandy, and me. We started out on the 3rd floor which is where the Surgery Room, Jacob's Room, Dr. Libby's Room, and the Artillery Room are. We didn't get very much in the Surgery Room except for a few words on the voice box. In Jacob's Room everyone, including the spirits, got a laugh out of me falling through one of the beds. The voice box stated "paranormal" "funny". In the Artillery Room we got a lot of discussion on the voice box. When Brandy asked what the spirits wanted us to do. The response we got was unexpectedly eerie "leave now". We left. As we sit here updating everyone and taking a break, my digital recorder is recording outside of Dr. Libby's Room.
We left the 3rd floor and went down to the Lady's Parlor. While in the Lady's Parlor Brandy got a start when something pulled her hair. While I looked at the piano and sang the song on the sheet music Brandy asked if they liked the piano, the voice box said "learn" and "Heather play". So I sang the song a little louder. In the Dead Hall, where the dead were piled up with other body parts awaiting to be buried, Brandy felt extremely out of breath. I also had a difficult time breathing.
Haven't heard back from Steve and Jason, yet. They are out checking the Train Depot. They must be getting some interesting stuff because they've been out there for over 2 hours.

5:10AM Well, we've finished up for the evening. Starting to pack up everything now. Got some great stuff and we'll be uploading evidence once we've reviewed everything. It was a great night. Lot's of neat things happened and some eerie things, too.

Gordonsville Exchange Hotel: Some History

The Gordonsville Exchange Hotel was built in 1859 and opened it's doors in 1860. A prime stop along the railroad, it welcomed weary travelers into it's rooms for a good night's sleep and good food. Built in Georgian and Italianate architectural style, the hotel boast 3 stories with wide front steps that lead directly to the second floor entrance way. Two shady porches extend the length of the hotel providing shaded sitting areas for visitors on the ground and second floors. The grounds are beautifully decorated with walk ways and flower beds. Also on the grounds there is a second building that was originally used as the kitchen and bakery. The Gordonsville Train Depot is within site and walking distance of the hotel. Currently, it is being restored by Historic Gordonsville, Inc.

Gordonsville Train Depot at the Exchange Hotel

Unfortunately, in March of 1862 the hotel was transformed into the Gordonsville Receiving Hospital. From that point until October 1865, the hospital was under the direction of a doctor from South Carolina, Dr. B.M Lebby.

During the time of three and a half years, the hospital treated the dying and the wounded from the battlefields of Trevillian Station, Mine Run, Brandy Station, Cedar Mountain, Chancellorsville, and the Wilderness. Over 70,000 men were brought to the hospital from the different battlefields using the railroad system. A little over 700 men died and were buried on the property including 26 Union soldiers, but have since been moved to the Maplewood Cemetery just across town in Gordonsville. It is the only receiving hospital still standing in the state of Virginia.The building once as the kitchen and bakery was believed to be turned into a dead house to house the dead soldiers waiting to be buried or shipped by train to other burial sites.

"Dead House"

During the Reconstruction period following the Civil War, the hospital became known as the Freedman's Bureau Hospital. It served the needs of the newly freed slaves across the region. As the railroad industry boomed, the hotel was restored to it's original purpose of serving travelers.

The hotel was restored by the Historic Gordonsville, Inc. in 1971 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In 2002 it received recognition as an African-American Memorial Site.

For more information of the Gordonsville Exchange Hotel as well as visitor information, please visit their website.

Abandoned Louisa House Investigation Continued 1:50am

Well, we have finished our investigation for the evening. Not a whole happening. We had some noises. We were able to get some responses with the EMF's. There were several times where the readings went to 20+ milliGAUSS. That was pretty cool. Still going through EVP recordings. Should have our finding on those in a few days. The pictures that we took weren't too interesting. We'll post any that we find have anything interesting in them.

Abandoned Louisa House Investigation

Well, here we are in Louisa investigating an abandoned house. There's no electricity, no heat, and no water. The house isn't in bad repair except for a hole in the floor near the front door. The house is located next door to Brandy and Steve's house so it's convenient for us to be able to go in shifts to investigate. We've just completed the first hour of our investigation and we didn't get a lot of action. We did 4 EVP sessions in the rooms where we sat while one digital recorder recorded alone in another room. The room where we left the recorder was a room where a friend of ours had some experiences while exploring the house one evening.

Brandy is reviewing the EVP sessions now while I review the video that we shot. While asking various questions about past families who had lived on the property as well as the current owner, the lights on the EMF reader went up to red a few times. We'll post some of our evidence as we get finish reviewing it.

We Are On Facebook!

Hey there everyone!

You can now follow us on Facebook for info between blog posts. You'll find all the details here and updates on Facebook along with more photos. So be sure to "like" us on Facebook and use the share button below to share our blog on your Facebook or Twitter account.

Thanks and Happy Haunting

Some of the pics from the Brown-Clatterbuck investigation

Front of original section of house. Porch is not original, it was added later.

Manual well pump at site of original barn

Looking through original back door towards front door.

Original door to cellar & house slave quarters (very cold here)

Downstairs bedroom door

Original stairs (tiny, not easy to walk up where it turns)

Door leading to 2nd upstairs bedroom which could only be accessed by going through 1st upstairs bedroom.

Upstairs windows are still the original windows.

Upstairs window of 2nd bedroom (we kept feeling like something was watching from this window)

Area where Slave quarters once stood. Also believed to be where Native American burial site is.

Orb next to rose bush that was still blooming (in November)

Looking the doorway of dining room towards original back door. At one time a back porch was here.

2nd picture of original back door taken about 10 seconds after 1st pic (for some reason I felt like I should keep taking pics here)

Close up (with color taken out) of 2nd pic of original back door. There's the reason for the continued picture taking. Jason's mother said that she believes this may be the ghost of her Grandmother.

3rd pic of the original backdoor. Notice red orb in upper right corner of door. There was nothing there to cause a reflection and it does not appear in any of the other photographs.

Original upstairs window that is now blocked by the newer additions. Notice antique Singer Machine.

Door that was nailed shut but mysteriously opened which saved Jason's life when the gas leaked.

The Brown-Clatterbuck Homestead, Culpeper, Virginia

Built in the mid to late 1800’s, this house has been owned by the same bloodline since the rock foundation was first placed by slaves owned by the Browns. The 8 acres that the house was built on, bought from the Williams family (freed African Americans who moved to Culpeper, VA around 1840 to escape the harsh ways of the southern states), is said to have once been the site of indigenous Native Americans (Tribe unknown). Many people claim the house was built on or close to the site of a Native American burial ground, but no records are shown to back up the stories. However, local records do indicate an African American slave cemetery on the property although the actual location is not known.

The house was originially a 2 story farmhouse built by slaves belonging to the Browns  with 2 rooms downstairs, 2 rooms upstairs, and a cellar which was occupied by the house slaves. Although the Browns were not known to mistreat their slaves, disobedience was met with strict consequences. Stories of whippings and starvation were known to have occurred. As many as 8 slaves, along with their children, were said to have worked for the Browns. Most of the slaves are said to have worked the land and care for the cows, horses, and chickens. One story told is of a fire that destroyed the slave quarters along with part of the horse’s barn (the site that many say was the actual site of the Native American burial ground).  It is noted in the “Town of Culpeper’s Historical Records” that 3 adult slaves and 2 of the slave’s children were severely burned and died as a result of the fire. Another slave died the day after the fire from what some have said was a brutal beating from the landowner who in a drunken rage blamed the slaves for the fire and proceeded to hit the slave over and over with an axe. There is no official record of the cause of death of this slave.

In the early 1900’s the Brown’s had their servants (slaves who by law were free but had nowhere else to live) build an addition onto the farmhouse. Two rooms were built onto the main level of the house along with a porch. During construction, one of the servants fell from the roof of the porch onto a pile of scrap lumber and was impaled by a piece of the lumber. The servant died within 3 months from severe infection. In the 1960’s, another porch was removed and 2 additional rooms were added to the farmhouse. At this time the Brown’s youngest granddaughters had married into the Clatterbuck family and were now the owners of the property. Over the years 2 of the Brown descendents died in the farmhouse. Mr. Brown’s daughter and granddaughter, both reaching over 65 years of age. 

After the death of Mr. Brown’s granddaughter, the house sat vacant for 3 years. The new owner of the property, still a part of the Brown and Clatterbuck bloodline, began to remodel and give the home much needed repairs. This is when most of the paranormal experiences began.

The new owner began cleaning out the house and found a couple of items he thought he would keep at his home. The same night he took the items to his house strange events occurred. After going to bed, he heard noises coming from the downstairs. He knew that everyone in the house had already gone to bed on the second floor level. When he went downstairs to investigate he thought he heard laughter coming from his kitchen. He found no one in the kitchen. When he returned upstairs he heard the laughter again. He returned to the kitchen, this time with a pistol. Again he found no one. When he turned to leave the kitchen, the light in the kitchen went out and he heard the laughter again as if someone were standing beside him. He immediately moved to the light switch and noticed it had been flipped to the off position. I can personally testify that the light switches in his house are older switches which require pressure to turn on and off and once in that position they will not move. When he turned the switch back to the on position the first thing that caught his attention was the items he had brought home from the Brown-Clatterbuck homestead. The following day he returned the items.

My personal experiences.

Before moving to Charlottesville I lived in the house for about a year or more. I remember the first night that I stayed there like it was yesterday. It had been 3 years to the day that my grandmother had died. Cancer had taken her. She was a great woman and anyone who knew her would tell you that. Her name was Fannie Estelle Brown Clatterbuck. Yes, this was my grandmother’s house. No one had lived in the house since she had passed away. There was no electricity in the house the first night that I was there.    I had decided to go ahead and stay that night so I’d be there in the morning when the power company came to turn on the power. At this time, only one room was livable. The living room; one of the first rooms built in the house and directly over the cellar where the slave quarters are located. I had only seen the slave quarters in the cellar once. There is a door in the living room that you have to open that has narrow steps leading down into the darkness.  We weren’t allowed to go down there when I was a kid, but I remember either a plumber or electrician having to go down there for something one time and when he went out to his truck for a something I snuck down there. There were 2 rooms underneath divided by a wall made of rocks about halfway up that met bars made out of wood that resembled a jail cell. The walls and floor had no covering, only dirt. There were no windows which made it frightfully dark. One room had a mound of dirt about 3 feet high that stretched the length of one wall. The other room only had one thing in it. A post in the center of the room that had shackles attached at the top. It was a whipping post. I could only imagine the slaves locked in the one room watching their father or brother or son being shackled to the post while being whipped. That was my first time in the cellar. Anyway, back to my first night alone in the house. It was around 11:30pm and I was strumming on my acoustic guitar. I sat the guitar down and sat back to smoke one more cigarette before going to sleep. Suddenly, the door knob that led to what was known as the dining room began to rattle along with the door moving like somebody really wanted to get in. My first thought, other than WTF, was that some homeless person must have taken up residence in the house while it was vacant. I grabbed my lantern and flashlight and bolted towards the door and flung it open. No one was there. There was no way that somebody could have run away before I got to the door. A couple of weeks passed and we had started to fix the house up. The living room was still the only livable room but at least I now had electricity. I had the room set up like a living room but had a mattress that at night I’d put in the middle of the room and sleep on. In the morning I’d lift it up on the side and lean it against the wall. One night, around 12:30am or so, I was lying on the mattress watching a movie and heard scratching coming from the floor beside the mattress. “Mice” I said. Then I remembered there were no ceilings in the cellar, just the main level floor joists and floor. This meant there was no way it could have been a mouse. Another time we had fixed up the entire main level and I had just hooked up the gas stove in the kitchen. I remember waking up freezing, it was February and the door that led outside from my bedroom had come open. Then I was overwhelmed by the smell of propane. The pilot light had gone out on the stove and propane had consumed the house. Here’s the kicker. That door that had opened in my bedroom had been nailed shut for years. We never removed the nails or opened the door while working on the house. Somebody or something opened that door and I’m grateful they or it did. If that door hadn’t of opened to vent the house out I probably wouldn’t be here now!

During my time there many unexplained things happened. Voices calling my name when no one was around, doors opening and/or closing, items moved around, and if you’re a smoker keep an eye on your cigarettes.

-Jason Butler

Welcome!

Welcome to the blog page created by and for Wayward Soul Searchers Paranormal Investigators of Virginia. Our plan is to share with our readers our personal experiences from our investigations. We take paranormal investigation seriously and enjoy what we do. We will share with you pieces evidence and information about our investigations. We hope that you find the answers and understanding you crave about the paranormal and the other side.