The Building that was Saved

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This building has been a company office, a city hall, a courthouse, and had a jail out back. In 1970, they almost tore it down.

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The community saved it.

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Look up.

 

That mansard roof, those slate shingles, and that center tower belong to one of Buena Vista's most important boom-era buildings. Known historically as the Buena Vista Company Building and later as the Old Courthouse, it was built in 1890 in the Second Empire style to look permanent and powerful at a moment when Buena Vista itself was barely a year old.

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It worked.

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The Buena Vista Company moved into the ground floor in May 1890, sharing space with offices for the Buena Vista Iron Company and the Fire Clay Company. Real estate firms filled the upper floors. In the early years of the boom, this building helped signal that Buena Vista was not just a dream on paper. It was becoming a city.

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By 1895, the City of Buena Vista had acquired the building and was using it as city hall and courthouse. Around 1900, an iron-clad lock-up was built behind it. After 1945, that lock-up was replaced by a brick jail wing. That jail wing is still attached to the back of this building right now.

The building survived the economic bust of the 1890s, two World Wars, and the catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Camille in 1969, when downtown Buena Vista recorded about five feet of standing water. In 1970, when city offices moved to a new municipal building, demolition was seriously considered. A building that had outlasted almost everything was nearly taken down by a bulldozer.

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Instead, the public library moved in in 1971 and has been here ever since.

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Today, the Old Courthouse is individually listed on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. It also sits inside the Buena Vista Downtown Historic District, surrounded by other buildings from the city's remarkable boom years.

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Before you leave, take a look at the corner of Magnolia and 21st Street. A low curved wall of sandstone river cobbles frames a small alcove holding an ornate cast iron drinking fountain, inscribed on the foot pedal with the name Murdock Manufacturing and Supply Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1989 the Buena Vista Woman's Club raised money to replace it, but the fountain standing there today appears to be the same one that has occupied that corner since at least 1971. Beside the building entrance, a cast iron clock on a fluted post bears the inscription "City of Buena Vista" in gold letters, manufactured by the Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. Between the clock and the front door, a plaque marks a time capsule buried in the ground during Buena Vista's centennial celebration in 1992. The building, the fountain, the clock, and the time capsule are all listed together as contributing structures within the Buena Vista Downtown Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

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Before This Was Buena Vista, This Land Had Another Name

 

You are standing on river-bottom land once known as Harts Bottom, a name whose full origin is still hard to pin down. Before Buena Vista became a city, this area was also connected to earlier places called Green Forest and Green Valley.

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In December 1888, businessman Benjamin C. Moomaw sat down over the Christmas holiday and wrote a prospectus for an entirely new city. The Buena Vista Company was formed, investors were recruited, and the plan moved quickly. Surveyors began laying out the town on February 26, 1889. The old names began to disappear into a new street grid.

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What happened next was extraordinary. In January 1890, there were roughly 400 people here. By January 1891, there were about 2,500 people, 409 dwellings, 44 stores, and 30 licensed boarding houses because there simply was not enough room. To help sell lots at night, the development company strung thousands of electric light bulbs across fields plotted out as future neighborhoods. One visitor remembered Buena Vista as "the only place in Virginia where you could hunt bull frogs by electric light."

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The boom faded by 1892, and the Panic of 1893 deepened the bust. Many boom towns from that era struggled to survive. Buena Vista did. It was chartered as a town in 1890 and became an independent city on February 15, 1892, with its own local government and civic identity.

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Prosperity returned in the early 1900s. By about 1930, Buena Vista had 1,352 workers employed across 20 industries, including textile, lumber, and paper companies. The people here were stubborn in the best possible way. They built something, and they kept it.

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The name Harts Bottom is gone from most maps and signs. But can you find our Hart Bottom Gnome?

 

The River Walk, the Maury River, and the Chessie Nature Trail

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You are standing where river, rail, floodwall, trail, and town all meet. This river corridor has carried people, goods, industry, and stories for more than 170 years. Long before the River Walk existed, the Maury River was part of a working transportation route that connected Rockbridge County to the James River and the wider markets beyond.

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The Canal Era, 1851 to 1880

In 1851, the North River Navigation Company began replacing earlier river navigation with a system of canals, locks, dams, and slackwater pools along the North River, now known as the Maury River. The goal was ambitious: connect this valley to the James River canal system and the markets of Richmond.

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By 1860, canal boats were reaching the Lexington and Jordan's Point area. Mule- and horse-towed boats carried agricultural goods, iron products, lumber, and passengers through the valley. Along the river, local landings, locks, and dams served farms, mills, merchants, and travelers.

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Remnants of that canal system can still be found along the Maury River today. Near Buena Vista, historic canal-era structures such as Moomaw's Dam and nearby lock remains help tell the story of a time when the river itself was one of the region's most important roads.

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The Railroad Junction That Built a City

By the early 1880s, railroads had begun to replace the canal system. Rail lines along the Maury River helped establish the junction that made Buena Vista's boom possible. The city was founded in 1889 at the meeting point of two rail lines, close to timber, mineral, and industrial resources in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Buena Vista grew rapidly during the land boom of 1889 and 1890, as houses, stores, factories, and hotels rose where fields had stood only a short time before.

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For decades, trains moved timber, iron, paper, manufactured goods, and passengers through this valley. The railroad helped anchor Buena Vista's identity as a manufacturing and rail town.

 

Today, part of that former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway corridor has become the Chessie Nature Trail, a public trail that runs about seven miles between Buena Vista and Lexington. The trail follows the Maury River through fields, woods, cliffs, pastureland, and historic transportation sites. What once moved freight now moves walkers, runners, cyclists, families, students, and visitors.

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The trail takes its name from the C&O Railway's beloved mascot, Chessie — a sleepy kitten curled on a pillow. First used in railroad advertising in the 1930s, Chessie appeared with the slogan "Sleep Like a Kitten" and became one of the most recognized railroad mascots in American history.

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The Floods, and the Wall That Became a Trail

The Maury River is one of Buena Vista's greatest natural assets. It is also a powerful force that has shaped the city's history.

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Major floods struck the community in 1870, 1936, 1969, 1985, and 1995. The most severe modern flood came on August 20, 1969, when the remnants of Hurricane Camille caused the Maury River to rise to record levels at Buena Vista. Downtown streets and buildings flooded. The river left a mark on the city that residents would remember for generations.

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In November 1985, flooding struck again. For many residents and business owners, that flood became the turning point. Buena Vista began pursuing a major flood-control project in partnership with local, state, and federal leaders.

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The James R. Olin Flood Control Project was completed in 1997. The project included floodwalls, levees, channel improvements, stone riprap, and drainage features designed to reduce flood damage from the Maury River and nearby streams.

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Rather than leave the flood-control system as bare infrastructure, Buena Vista turned part of it into a public place. The River Walk was built along the floodwall and levee system, creating a gravel path with views of the river and mountains. Today, residents walk, run, bike, push strollers, and bring leashed dogs along this route year-round.

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The River Walk helps link downtown Buena Vista with the boat launch, Glen Maury Park, and the Chessie Nature Trail. It is both protection and invitation: a reminder of the river's power, and a way for the community to enjoy the river safely.

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The River, the Name, and the Outdoors Today

The Maury River was formerly known as the North River of the James. It was later renamed for Matthew Fontaine Maury, a Virginia-born scientist, naval officer, and educator who became internationally known for his work charting ocean winds and currents. His 1855 book, The Physical Geography of the Sea, is widely recognized as a foundational work in modern oceanography. Maury joined the faculty of Virginia Military Institute in Lexington in 1868 and lived there until his death in 1873. The river that carries his name flows through Glen Maury Park, alongside the Chessie Nature Trail, and past this entrance.

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Today, Buena Vista is a designated Appalachian Trail Community and a gateway to some of Virginia's best outdoor recreation. Glen Maury Park offers river access, more than eight miles of trails, camping, disc golf, a pool, picnic areas. The Blue Ridge Parkway is only a few miles away, and the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests begin just beyond the city limits.

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The trail is open year-round. No fee. Leashed pets welcome.

Main Hall at Southern Virginia University: The Hotel That Rose from Fire

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You are standing before one of Buena Vista's most resilient landmarks.

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Main Hall was first imagined during Buena Vista's extraordinary land boom of the late 1880s and early 1890s, when investors believed this small mountain city could become one of the great industrial centers of western Virginia. Since then, this hilltop building has been a grand resort hotel, a women's seminary, a junior college, and the centerpiece of Southern Virginia University.

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Its story begins with fire and continues through boom, bust, education, and reinvention. In many ways, Main Hall still tells the story of Buena Vista itself: ambitious, resilient, and built on high ground.

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The First Hotel, 1889 to 1890

The original Hotel Buena Vista was designed by Walter P. Tinsley of Lynchburg and begun in March 1889. Grand hotels were a deliberate feature of Virginia's boom towns during this period. They projected prosperity, welcomed investors and travelers, and helped signal that a new city was rising.

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This site was chosen with purpose. Set high above the new street grid, the hotel overlooked the still-growing town below. The building opened for business on July 1, 1889.

Just over a year later, on July 10, 1890, the first hotel burned.

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The loss could have stopped the project. Instead, Buena Vista rebuilt.

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The Replacement Building, 1891 to Present

The Buena Vista Company moved quickly after the fire. In August 1890, the company announced that Pennsylvania architect Sidney Winfield Foulk had been selected to design a replacement hotel.

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Foulk's design was larger, stronger, and more ambitious than the original. Built in brick and completed in 1891, the replacement building is the structure you see today.

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Main Hall's architecture reflects the exuberance of the late 19th century. Its towers, steep rooflines, arched openings, galleries, and decorative details draw from Queen Anne, French Renaissance, and Romanesque traditions. It was built to project permanence and ambition from a hillside overlooking the city below.

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The building is individually listed on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places, recognized for its architectural significance and its role in Buena Vista's history.

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Southern Seminary and a Century of Education

After Buena Vista's land boom faded, the hotel eventually found a new purpose. In 1901, Dr. Edgar H. Rowe opened a branch of his school in the former hotel building and gave it new life as Southern Seminary.

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For generations, young women studied, lived, performed, worshiped, and looked out over the valley from these same windows. The school later became Southern Seminary and Junior College and published a yearbook called the Maid of the Mountains, preserving the names, faces, and memories of students who made this building home.

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After nearly a century as a women's school, Southern Seminary closed in 1996. The campus was reorganized as Southern Virginia University, a private, faith-based liberal arts institution aligned with the restored gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2023, SVU's student body reached 1,170, the highest enrollment in university history.

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Main Hall remains the heart of the university and one of the primary anchors of Buena Vista's community life.

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The View From Here

From the front of Main Hall, Buena Vista spreads below you in the Maury River valley.

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Downtown sits to the west and south, much of it shaped during the boom years of 1889 and 1890. The Maury River winds through the valley below, past Glen Maury Park and toward the Chessie Nature Trail. In the distance, the Blue Ridge Mountains frame the city on every side.

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To the east, near the base of the mountain, look for the school with the blue-tinted roof. That is Parry McCluer High School, Buena Vista's public high school, named for local educator and school superintendent John Parry McCluer.

Buena Vista has always been a city of steep hills, big views, and determined rebuilding. Main Hall may be the clearest example of that spirit: a hotel that rose from fire, a school that endured, and a landmark that still watches over the city.

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Main Hall is an active university building. This stop is designed for exterior viewing only. Please respect campus access rules and any posted signs.

 

Glen Maury Park and the View from the Double Decker

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You climbed up here. Take a moment.

This is one of the finest views in the Shenandoah Valley, and it belongs to everyone who lives here and everyone who visits.

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Below and around you is Glen Maury Park, approximately 315 acres of riverfront, wooded trails, open fields, and gathering spaces along the Maury River. The park is owned and operated by the City of Buena Vista and has been a favorite place for camping, music, festivals, sports, reunions, and outdoor adventure for generations.

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The Maury River winds through the lower section of the park and helps connect this landscape to Buena Vista's larger outdoor story: the River Walk, the boat launch, the Chessie Nature Trail, downtown, and the mountains beyond. On a clear day, the Blue Ridge frames nearly every direction.

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The Paxton House and the Land Beneath the Park

Before this was a park, this was a farm.

The brick house visible below is the Paxton House, also known historically as Glen Maury. Built around 1831, the house was first owned by Elisha Paxton, a local farmer. It is a well-preserved example of Classical Revival architecture shaped by local building traditions in the Shenandoah Valley.

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The house is also connected to the Paxton family's broader Rockbridge County history, including General Elisha Franklin Paxton, commander of the Stonewall Brigade, who was killed at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863.

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The Paxton House is individually listed on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the property is owned by the City of Buena Vista and serves the community as part of Glen Maury Park. The Paxton House Historical Society, formed in 1997, restored the house as a social, educational, and historical center.

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What the Park Offers Today

Glen Maury Park is one of Buena Vista's great outdoor gathering places.

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Current amenities include hiking and biking trails, a nine-hole disc golf course, an Olympic-size swimming pool, sports fields, tennis courts, picnic shelters, playground space, event pavilions, camping for tents and RVs, and river access.

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The park hosts music, races, festivals, family gatherings, community events, and traditions like the Maury River Fiddlers Convention. A historic red caboose in the park honors Buena Vista's identity as a railroad town.​

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The View from Here, and What Lies Beyond

To the north, on the hill above downtown, the building with the towers and steep roofline is Southern Virginia University's Main Hall. It began as the boom-era Hotel Buena Vista, burned in 1890, and was rebuilt in brick as the building that still stands today.

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To the east, near the base of the mountain, the school with the blue-tinted roof is Parry McCluer High School, named for local educator and school superintendent John Parry McCluer.

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The Blue Ridge Parkway is only a few miles from Buena Vista, and the Appalachian Trail crossing at U.S. 60 is about nine miles east of town. Buena Vista is a designated Appalachian Trail Community, and Glen Maury Park offers camping and services that help welcome hikers into town.

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The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests begin just beyond the city limits and stretch across more than 1.8 million acres of Appalachian forest. For a city this small, Buena Vista sits beside an extraordinary amount of public land, mountain trail, river access, and open sky.

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A Note Worth Sharing

In May 2026, the Double Decker's floor was fully restored thanks to a generous gift from the Casper family of Buena Vista, who donated the materials and labor as part of their wedding celebration. It is a small and beautiful example of what makes this city what it is: residents who do not wait for someone else to take care of the place they love.

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Citizens here are builders. They always have been.

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We hope this view, this park, and this town have helped you build a few memories of your own.

Glen Maury Park is open year-round. For hours, camping reservations, and other information call (540) 261-7321.

 

Leashed pets and bikes are welcome on trails.

Historical and interpretive research for the Get to Gnome BV trail used public records, historic register documentation, local planning documents, tourism materials, and community sources.

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Program Credits

Gnomes are handmade and Gnome photos all created in Buena Vista by Hannah  / HanMade.

Research, writing, and program coordination by Main Street Buena Vista.

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Get to "Gnome" BV is a program partnership with HanMade and Main Street Buena Vista, a Virginia Main Street–designated nonprofit dedicated to the revitalization of downtown Buena Vista, Virginia.

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mainstreetbuenavista.org · contact@mainstreetbuenavista.org 

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Primary Historical Sources

Library of Congress. Perspective Map of Buena Vista, Va. 1891. American Publishing Co., Milwaukee, 1891.​

Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Buena Vista Downtown Historic District. National Register of Historic Places registration materials.

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Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Old Courthouse / Buena Vista Company Building. Historic register documentation and photo records.​

Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Southern Seminary Main Building / Hotel Buena Vista / Southern Virginia University Main Hall. Historic register documentation and photo records.​

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Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Glen Maury / Paxton House. Historic register documentation and photo records.

Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Parry McCluer High School. Historic register documentation.

Virginia Military Institute. Chessie Nature Trail history and trail information.

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Maury River waterbody information.

Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Buena Vista, Virginia: Appalachian Trail Community.

Library of Congress. Carol M. Highsmith Archive. Photographs of Lexington, Virginia and surrounding area, including Buena Vista, Virginia.

Library of Virginia. Governor's Negative Collection. Hurricane Camille flooding images and captions for Buena Vista.

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Local and Regional Planning Sources

City of Buena Vista. Glen Maury Park parks and recreation information.

Main Street Buena Vista. Main Street Program Strategic Plan Dashboard, 2025.

Main Street America / Virginia Main Street. Buena Vista Downtown Transformation Strategy Report. 2023.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Recreation Economy for Rural Communities Program. Buena Vista, Virginia Community Action Plan. 2023.

Place + Main Advisors. Buena Vista Downtown Inventory and Real Estate Redevelopment Strategy. 2025.

Rockbridge Regional Tourism / Lexington and the Rockbridge Area Tourism.

River Walk, Glen Maury Park, Buena Vista viewpoints, and regional outdoor recreation listings.

Virginia Tourism Corporation.

Buena Vista River Walk and Explore Buena Vista destination listings.

Run Rockbridge.

Buena Vista River Walk running route description.​