Nearby

Well, now that I have visited Staunton, I feel humbled, awful—suffused with Piedmont guilt--because it is a pretty cool town, as anyone who lives in or has visited the place well knows. Staunton should not be compared with Charlottesville—it’s larger, more prosperous, more urbane neighboring city—but it doesn’t need to be: It’s got plenty of good qualities of its own.

For starters, Staunton is a very manageable place. You can easily walk around downtown Staunton and do a lot—and indeed, that arguably is the best thing about the place. Most of the action is in the five- or six-block downtown area—which means that you can park your car and start strolling its somewhat hilly streets and not climb back in your vehicle until you are ready to return home a day or two later. That is a very good thing.

Staunton, like most places in Virginia, has a lot of history. Scots-Irish settler John Lewis (with family) was the first European to settle in the area, in 1732, and more Scots Irish followed. Surveyor Thomas Lewis, son of John, laid out Staunton’s streets in 1747. The city was named for Lady Rebecca Staunton, who was the wife of Colonial Governor of Virginia William Gooch. The city’s name, of course, is pronounced STAN-ton, with no ‘u’ sound—and yet apparently nobody knows why, which is all the more perplexing because descendants of Lady Staunton pronounce the ‘u.’

No matter. Partly because it was not damaged during the Civil War, Staunton has still got a lot of charming historic architecture—old red-brick buildings built during the city’s boom period of 1860 to 1920—and more than a few charming Victorian houses. Downtown Staunton looks and feels charmingly old, yet it’s very much alive, with it’s own distinct Valley vibe. “I would describe the vibe as both local and fun,” says Sheryl Wagner, Staunton’s director of tourism. “I grew up in Lexington and years ago, you didn’t go to downtown Staunton sometimes—it was kind of scary. But they revitalized the downtown and it has become a vibrant place.”

Quite true—and the merchants are all independent, all local—which is the buzzword in Staunton. There are no chain stories of any kind, that I could see, and yet plenty of restaurants, shops, galleries, coffee houses, two movie theaters and a few places to hear live music. The shops downtown are mixed and eclectic, but there is quality. The Michael B. Tusing Gallery offers art, furniture, and jewelry—very fine things with a slightly contemporary aesthetic. Vintage Wedding Gifts sells furniture, fine art, china and silver. Once Upon a Time, which just opened in the past year, sells European and domestic clocks. Duke & Fitzpenn sells English and American antique furniture and decorative accessories, and is located in the Marquis Building at the corner of Beverly Street and North Augusta. It is a distinctive Romanesque-Revival structure that Wagner says, “features an unusual corner entrance supported by stone columns with carved capitals.” Built in 1895, the Marquis Building housed the offices of architect T. J. Collins, who was responsible for the design or remodel of more than 200 buildings in downtown Staunton. The building is also sometimes referred to as the “umbrella building,” as it has a large tin umbrella attached to the turret in front. It was installed as a trade sign by a man who used to own a men’s clothing store in the building.