THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 1995 TAG: 9510270066
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN
LENGTH: Long : 131 lines
THE MARTHA WASHINGTON Inn in Abingdon, an elegant, old regional landmark in one of the lovliest towns in Virginia, was recently purchased by the Camberley Hotel Co. of Atlanta. They renamed it the Camberley Martha Washington Inn.
Sorry, but this history-laden, home-away-from-home across the street from the Barter Theater will always be known simply as ``the Martha.'' Period.
And she'll always be known for her ghost stories.
Listen up, since another Halloween is almost upon us.
First some background: The central portion of the Mobil four-star hotel was built as a private mansion in 1832 for Gen. Francis Preston. Shortly before the Civil War and after the death of the Prestons, the mansion became an elite college for women named for Martha Washington. During the war, the school became a makeshift hospital.
Tradition has it that a badly wounded Yankee, Capt. John Stoves, was captured nearby and carried to the third floor. There he was tenderly cared for by a Martha girl known only as Beth.
Back then, wounded soldiers didn't just die, particularly ones that had fallen in love with their nurses. They made a scene, created a legend that would be remembered forever. Then they died. Even Yankees knew that.
So before the captain went off to the big muster in the sky, he called out, ``Play something, Beth. I'm going.'' And only then, after Beth had dutifully picked up her violin and had begun to play, did he die.
Beth, seizing the moment as a screen heroine would have done if movies had been invented, said to the attending physician, ``He has been pardoned, sir, by an officer higher than General Lee. Captain Stoves is dead.''
Shortly after his death, a weakened Beth was stricken with typhoid fever and died. The two are now united in death in Abingdon's Green Springs Cemetery.
The haunting part is this: On nights of the full moon (almost always a full moon is necessary for a haunt to really work properly), Beth's violin melodies may often be heard on the third floor.
You could check it out.
Or this tale (a rare case in which no full moon is necessary).
One evening in 1864, Confederate soldiers, alerted that Union soldiers were coming, were ready for them. As the Union soldiers tried to escape, one was struck by a bullet and was carried to the Martha. There he died about midnight. Waiting in vain for his master, the soldier's horse wandered the grounds for hours. But the next day, it was nowhere to be found.
On moonless nights, a ghostly, riderless horse can sometimes be seen on the Inn's south lawn.
The Martha remained a girls school until the Depression closed its doors. They reopened as a hotel in 1935. Today it's one of a small and select group of Historic Hotels of America. Info: (540) 628-3161.
Abingdon is in the Virginia Highlands on Interstate 81 about two hours southwest of Roanoke; it's a good day's journey from South Hampton Roads. FINAL FLING
How about one final fling of horsey gentility in the verdant Virginia Piedmont before the winter blahs set in? There's no better place than the 61st running of the Montpelier Hunt Races on Saturday at James and Dolley Madison's estate in Orange County.
There's where you'll see spectators in their sporting finest, tailgate buffets with gourmet provisions and top steeplechase thoroughbred horses with colorfully-clad jockeys. The magnificent backdrop is Montpelier, the 2,700-acre estate of our fourth president and his scene-stealing wife - and later two generations of du Ponts.
After Dolley Madison sold Montpelier in 1844, to retire her son's gambling debts, the house changed hands six times and fell into disrepair. Then, in 1900, the property began its second life, when it was purchased by William and Anna Rogers du Pont.
Under the du Ponts' stewardship, and particularly in the hands of their daughter, Marion du Pont Scott, Montpelier became the quintessential baronial estate. The du Ponts doubled the mansion's size to 64,000 square feet, added a steeplechase course, racetrack, bowling alley and train station to the grounds, and imposed a decidedly 20th century look inside.
Montpelier was opened to the public only in 1987, three years after it was deeded to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The gates open at 10 a.m. Saturday. In addition to the steeplechase racing, started by Mrs. Scott and her brother William in 1927, there will be Jack Russell Terrier races at 10:30, tailgate buffet judging (professionally catered and self-prepared divisions) and house tours from noon until 3.
General admission is $10 (children under 12 free), parking $5. Info: (540) 672-2728.
Montpelier is four miles southwest of Orange, on Va. Route 20. It is about a 3 1/2-hour drive from South Hampton Roads. BLESS THIS FOOD. . .
The 36th annual Thanksgiving Festival will be held next Sunday at Berkeley Plantation, site of the first Thanksgiving service in 1619.
There will be a re-enactment of the 1619 landing and prayers, American Indian dancing, living history demonstrations and tours of the plantation house. Food may be purchased on the grounds. Gates open at 9 a.m. Advance admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, $3 for students; gate prices are $10, $8 and $4. Info: (804) 272-3226.
A more formal Thanksgiving dinner may be had at the nearby Coach House Tavern with advance reservations only, priced at $25 for adults, $15 for children. Info: (804) 272-3226. TICKET TO RIDE
One of Washington's enduring summertime scenes - the winding line around the base of the Washington Monument - could fade into history with a new timed-ticket procedure being tested here. The National Park Service plans to issue tickets with a time stamped on them. Once visitors have a ticket, they show up at their appointed time to take the 70-second elevator ride to the top.
The park service estimates the wait under the new procedure will be no more than 15 minutes, compared with the two- to three-hour wait common in the summer.
After a two-month trial, officials will decide whether to make the ticketing procedure permanent. The system has long been used for major art exhibits in Washington.
With the trial system, visitors can stop by the kiosk on the 15th Street side of the monument and pick up free tickets or reserve tickets through Ticketmaster for $1.50 each and a 50-cent service charge. The number for advance reservations is (800) 505-5040, anytime, through the trial period. YOUR MONEY'S WORTH
A ``Day at the Races'' package at The Seelbach in Louisville, Ky., to coincide with the fall meeting at Churchill Downs today through Nov. 25: $125 per room per night includes two clubhouse tickets and two copies of The Daily Racing Form. Valet parking available at hotel. Info (800) 333-3399. MEMO: Travel-wise is compiled from wire-service reports, news releases,
trade journals, books, magazines and the deepest recesses of the
writer's mind. Send comments and questions to Travel-wise, The
Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va. 23501-0449; phone (804) 446-2904. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
The historical Martha Washington Inn in Abingdon has been purchased
by the Camberley Hotel Co. of Atlanta. by CNB