JAMES WADDEL MONUMENT - Gordonsville, VA
Posted by: 
vhasler
N 38° 08.849 W 078° 10.840
17S E 747056 N 4225934
A granite block and a VA historical marker note where a blind Presbyterian evangelist preached 1785-1805.
Waymark Code: WMA04M
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 10/24/2010
Views: 3
The JAMES WADDEL MONUMENT, a granite block, is near the probable site of the 'ruinous old wooden house' in which Waddel, a blind Presbyterian evangelist, preached between 1785 and his death 20 years later. In 1803 Waddel was described as a tall, thin patriarch of supernatural appearance. His oratory could produce wailing and gnashing of teeth and had the power to quiet the storm it had created. William Wirt made Waddel's eloquence the subject of an incident in his book, Letters of the British Spy.
---- Virginia - A Guide to the Old Dominion State, 1940.
The editor was consistent in the "Waddell" spelling, but corrected in this waymark so that it can be properly found for searches. Located on the NW side of US 15 (James Madison Highway) with a small pull over. Since the VA historical marker (F-23) is dated 1929, it was also here to alert the guidebook writer to this location.
The granite momument reads (best I can tell):
Near this spot
while yet primeval forest
stood the church of
the blind preacher
James Waddel
a devout man of god and a faithful
minister of the presbyterian church
Born 1739 - Died 1805
Socrates died like a philosopher but
Jesus Christ like a God From his sermon
as narrated by William Wirt