Editing Gordonsville, Virginia (section)

=== During the Civil War and after ===
Gordonsville and the railroads which intersected there were of vital importance to the Confederacy for troop mobility and supplies. Troops from Richmond on the way to the [[First Battle of Bull Run]] on July 21, 1861, came through town. During the war years, [[Robert E. Lee]], [[James Longstreet]], [[Stonewall Jackson]], [[Richard S. Ewell]] and [[A. P. Hill]] spent time in Gordonsville. Major Gen. [[Philip Sheridan]] led a raid in the direction of Gordonsville and Charlottesville but was stopped by [[Wade Hampton III|Wade Hampton]]'s Confederate [[cavalry]] in the vicinity of Trevilian Station. Gordonsville was threatened many times but was always successfully defended by the Confederates. The Civil War ended in 1865 and with Gordonsville being largely unscathed, passenger rail service was quickly reestablished.<ref name=":1" />

Gordonsville was officially incorporated into a town in 1870 by an act of the [[Virginia General Assembly]].<ref>Commonwealth of Virginia Division of Legislative Services. "Charters." Retrieved August 14, 2013. http://dls.virginia.gov/charters/Gordonsville.pdf</ref> The population then was approximately 1,500. In the following years it was "a flourishing and fast improving town" and its prosperity gave rise to then-superior educational facilities and fine examples of period architecture, many of which are still standing on N. Main and W. Baker Streets. Gordonsville had the unique reputation as a fast-food emporium in the 1870s, with an active market of food vendors serving rail travelers as they stopped in the town.<ref name=wamu/> As alternative rail lines and roads were constructed bypassing Gordonsville, it morphed into a quiet, rural market town. Fires in 1916 and 1920 destroyed much of the downtown, with only a handful of buildings surviving to this day. Damage was repaired and buildings were rebuilt, largely shaping modern-day Gordonsville. The town has remained economically stable through current times, as has its population.<ref name=":0" />

In the early 1970s, following the 100-year anniversary of the town's incorporation, a nonprofit organization named Historic Gordonsville Inc. was formed.  As of August 2013, the company owned a large number of properties downtown, including the Exchange Hotel.<ref>Orange County Commissioner of Revenue Property Tax Records. Retrieved August 15, 2013. https://tax.orangecountyva.gov/applications/txapps/index.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817062434/https://tax.orangecountyva.gov/applications/txapps/index.htm |date=August 17, 2013 }}</ref> Their renovation and preservation efforts have helped maintain the historic commercial core of Gordonsville. House Bill 847 was passed by the Virginia Assembly in 1996, which amended §10.1-2212 of the Virginia Code to add Historic Gordonsville, Inc. to the listing of historical societies eligible to receive appropriations from the Virginia Department of Historical Resources.