Stone Warehouse, Fredericksburg Historic District - Fredericksburg, VA - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

The Old Stone Warehouse is located in Fredericksburg, VA. This structure built in 1813 and was once a major storage structure for the trade that flowed through town. Over the years the Old Stone Warehouse has served many purposes from a jail to a morgue.

Free Lance-Star, published: 12/10/2005
The Old Stone Warehouse had a mysterious past. No one was certain when it was originally constructed, although most dated it to the mid-1700s. It was a three-story, free-standing structure with masonry walls of coursed ashlar sandstone, with wood framing of chestnut and a slate roof. Hand-shaped stone blocks and giant wooden beams, some measuring 14 inches in width, are still holding up this structure today.

It was also thought to have once been the local jail, because of the stone structure and the barred windows--but then research revealed that the early jail was actually underneath the courthouse.

HFFI research revealed that an earlier warehouse was built on the site in 1754, probably to store tobacco before it was shipped to England. Floods or the fire of 1807 destroyed this building. City records show that what is apparently the present Old Stone Warehouse was built about 1813 by businessman Thomas Goodwin.

Although the current walls and beams date to the early 19th century, the building appears to have been built on the much-earlier foundations of its precursors, foundations that remain intact today.

Then came the Civil War. Cannon balls struck the building at least five times, and their marks are still visible inside and out. Used as a morgue, the building had as many as 326 dead Union soldiers stacked like cordwood inside. After the war, the building was used to cure salt fish, as a brewery, and as a feed and fertilizer warehouse in the 1900s.

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Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): Fredericksburg Historic District Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link] Address: Corner of Williams and Sophia St. Fredericksburg, VA How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Other (Please explain in the Private Message field) NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): Not listed Optional link to narrative or database: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/25/2009 La de Boheme visited it

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