A look back…

In 1958, W.A. Sherman, Jr. and F.W. Sherman announced an exciting project that would provide economic benefits to the Town of Orange. The Shermans made public their plans to purchase the James Madison Hotel, perform major renovations and reopen the facility with a modern kitchen, updated heating and plumbing and air conditioning.
Only a few weeks before the Shermans announced their plans for the James Madison Hotel, it appeared the facility was destined to be converted into a nursing home. At the time, the James Madison had ceased to operate as a hotel; Prospective buyers, with a background in operation and administration of nursing home facilities had recently toured the facility. Much of the kitchen and dining room equipment and furnishings had already been sold at auction.
“Our plans call for a reconditioning program which will put the hotel back on its feet and in a position to work toward continual improvement,“ W.A. Sherman said in 1958.
Along with modernizations within the hotel, the Shermans announced plans to install a swimming pool, and a game room. These amenities, they said, were to be part of a proposed country club. Initiation fees, regular dues and election of club officers were to be announced later. Similar community clubs already existed in other localities.
The Shermans’ 1958 purchase and renovation project would fast-forward operations and amenities at the hotel by 30 years. The structure was first put into service as a hotel in the late 1920s, and it prospered under a series of owners through the 1930s and 1940s. The hotel closed to guests following World War II amid lease conflicts and management complications.
In the 1950s, the hotel’s potential as a tourist attraction sparked a number of discussions at Chamber of Commerce and Orange Town Council meetings.
Sherman said it was for the benefit of the community that he took on the project.
“We feel the James Madison will again be successful if properly managed and supported by the many who have expressed their desire for its re-opening,“ he said.
Later, with improvements well underway, the Sherman brothers announced the hotel would change its name from the James Madison Hotel to the President Madison Inn.

With a promise to bring jobs and tax dollars to Orange County, in 1958 the Roanoke-Webster’s Somerset brick plant announced plans to start production.
The new brick-making facility in Somerset made an official announcement to begin manufacturing several sizes and varieties of brick for the first time. Initial operation was expected to produce a half-million bricks per week, with a capacity to produce up to two million bricks per week.

In order to determine a site for a public dump, county officials requested a study from the Orange Farm Bureau and other civic organizations.
In January 1958, Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Monroe Waugh said the board had battled over a suitable site for a dump for the last decade. Each proposed location had been met with strong opposition.
Orange County Health Officer Dr. R.S. LeGarde suggested the board consider privatizing trash service. A privately-owned trash collection company, he reasoned, could be contracted by the county to pick up and haul away trash and refuse, preventing it from being scattered on roads and private property.
LeGarde reported that he had performed an inspection of the dump that existed in 1958 in the Barbour District, in response to a complaint. There, he said, he discovered four sacks of dead chickens and two dead dogs. LeGarde said the presence of these items was “objectionable.“

Orange County school students were forced to wait for better weather before builders broke ground on a brand new elementary school.
In April 1958, plans to build a new elementary school in Unionville were delayed due to snow and rain. The new structure was designed to accommodate 450 students and include 14 classrooms, a music room, clinic, library, cafeteria, auditorium-play room and administrative offices.
The new school replaced what was at the time Orange County’s oldest school, originally Unionville High School, built in 1908. The original structure was enlarged a number of times to accommodate a growing population of pupils.
The new Unionville Elementary School, eventually opened several months later than officials had planned—in early 1959. The total cost for constructing the school was $500,000.

Dr. H.Q. Tucker opened a new veterinary hospital in Orange, just opposite the drive-in theater in 1958.
Dr. Tucker was 35 years old when he established his state-of-the-art animal hospital and veterinary clinic in Orange-where he still practices today.

In May 1958, local grocery stores held sales on summer picnic items in anticipation of graduation parties, summer outdoor suppers and Memorial Day cookouts.

Safeway advertised a 10-pound bag of potatoes for $.49, six cans of frozen lemonade for $.59, a pound of franks for $.53 and a package of eight hot dog rolls for $.23.
Over at the A&P, customers could find hams for $.43 per pound, ground beef for $.55 per pound, a dozen eggs for $.53 and a six pack of Tudor brand beer for $.85.
Leggett’s department store in Orange held a “Black Cat Sale” with “luck values” Friday, June 13, 1958. Turkish towels were five for $1, ladies’ dresses were only $4.99, and short sleeve sport shirts were on sale for $.39.

Charles Seely posted an advertisement in June 1958 seeking information leading to the conviction and imprisonment of the robber who broke into his house. Seely offered a $100 reward if the robber was killed resisting arrest.

A new athletic field in Gordonsville was dedicated August 16, 1958. The brand new community field was named in honor of Gordonsville resident Oscar Blue Omohundro and officially opened with formal ceremonies and an initiatory game between Orange and Gordonsville Baseball Leagues.
The athletic field was brought into being by the Gordonsville Athletic Association, Gordonsville Volunteer Fire Company, the fire company ladies auxiliary, Gordonsville Chamber of Commerce, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Lions Club and Ruritan Club.

Gordonsville lost a landmark in 1958. The Review reported that the historic Linney Hall was to be demolished.
The structure was built in the 1860s by Charles B. Linney, a great-grandson of Gordonsville’s founding father, Nathaniel Gordon. The location of the building is unclear, but it seems to have been located somewhere between the Baptist Church and Exchange Hotel. The bricks used in construction were made from clay dug at Linney’s brickyard, which was located in a field in Gordonsville.
Linney Hall was originally built as a community recreation and amusement center. Inside, plays were put on featuring famous thespians of the period. A bowling alley was located downstairs.
In the late 1890s, the Columbia Phonograph company held a show featuring an ultra-modern machine with a 10-foot-long horn and state-of-the-art cylindrical wax records. Each member of the capacity crowd paid $.25 admission to hear “Turkey in the Straw.“ “Preacher and the Bear” and other tunes on the huge phonograph.
Later, Linney Hall was partitioned off and the building was put into service as a boarding house. Travelers and transients rented rooms on the main floor, and remaining areas were rented to a number of companies for office space. A local doctor rented rooms for his practice, and the Odd Fellows met in another portion of the former amusement hall.
The post office operated from Linney Hall for 40 years, but after it moved, the building fell into disrepair.

Well into the atomic age and in the midst of the Cold War, Orange County High School was host to a United States Atomic Energy Commission traveling exhibit called “Atoms for Peace.“
The exhibit was a self-contained, walk-through bus that traveled throughout the state as part of a government-sponsored atomic energy education effort.
The exhibit detailed the spectrum of uses for nuclear energy, modern research and development, mining methods and nuclear reactor design.

The Orange County Rescue Squad announced the start of its annual fund drive in September 1958.
“Turn about is fair play,“ a rescue squad advertisement said. “The members of the Orange County Rescue Squad gladly offer out services in any emergency. Now we need your help in our annual fund drive.“
The squad’s fundraising goal 50 years ago was $5,200.

The Orange Volunteer Fire Company acquired a high-tech all-purpose fire truck in 1958. Fire Chief S.L. Winslow said the new truck was key to fighting fires in a rural county.
“We can now answer a country alarm and be ready to put out 2,200 gallons of immediate water on the blaze,“ Winslow said.
The truck cost close to $20,000, and included a portable light plant, portable water pump, six fog nozzles of the latest design, 1,000 feet of two-and-a-half-inch rot-proof Dacron hose, 300 feet of one-and-a-half-inch Dacron hose and two 300-foot

high-pressure, one-inch high rubber reel hose. 
The new purchase replaced a 1931 salvage truck.
“I do not know of another town the size of Orange that is better equipped to fight fires,“ Winslow said.

Even 50 years ago, county residents had concerns about the safety of Route 20. The State Highway Department announced a public hearing to consider plans for improvement of about 10 miles of Route 20 from Route 600 near Nasons to Locust Grove.
Officials, at the time, were considering the results of two studies that had been conducted on that stretch of Route 20. One recommendation was to relocate that portion of the highway along the abandoned Plank Road; results of the second study recommended making improvements on the existing roadway.
A century ago, the streetscape of the Town of Orange was altered by disaster. On Nov. 8, 1908, 15 an entire business block, including stores, churches and residences were completely destroyed after an uncontrollable blaze tore through Main Street.
The fire was believed to have begun in the second floor of Rickett’s Drug Store on Railroad Ave. Firefighters rushed to the scene with their equipment: a pump on wheels, pulled by manpower, which extracted water from several nearby wells. Rapidly, the fire spread and burned out of control. In response to a call for help, the city of Charlottesville sent a pumper by train to help extinguish the inferno. 
Among the structures that burned in the fire were Ware and Watts Hardware Store, Rickett’s Drug Store, George Gaines’ bar room, the home of David May and Rawling’s Grocery.
In the summer of 1909, another fire swept through Railroad Avenue, destroying Morris Grocery, the old Morris Hotel, Luther Martin’s tin shop and restaurant, Lipscomb Jewelry Store, the ticket office of the Southern and C&O Railroad, and the Orange Review office.

In 1878, Orange was the site of a stately visit when President Rutherford B. Hayes made a trip to Montpelier.
Oscar F. Bresee, owner of the Rose Hill Estate at Rapidan offered his handsome carriage and four beautiful bay horses for President Hayes’ conveyance in Orange.
The president’s party toured Montpelier, owned at the time by Thomas J. Carson. After a two hour visit, Hayes returned to the Town of Orange to board the train back to Washington, D.C.