Visitors to Shannondale Springs during the 1840’s and 1850’s included invalids taking the waters, artists seeking inspiration, and members of the social and political elite who renewed old friendships and forged new alliances. One New York columnist, characterizing the difference between Shannondale and its Northern competitors, noted, ...

there is an entire absence of that codfish aristocracy, and those sets of would-be exclusives, of whom we have been so much in connection with Northern watering places; none of your Simkinses, or Timkinses, or such people whose pedigree runs full tilt into a grocery or soap factory; but we have unassuming people — F.F.V’s, if you please — whose history runs back to the ancient cavaliers, who, with Lord Fairfax and the Washingtons, first crossed over the Ridge before the Revolution.41

Residents of the surrounding counties, many of them friends and associates of the owners, mingled with the guests for a fortnight, a day, or an evening, returning regularly for concerts, dress balls, July Fourth fireworks, and ring tournaments — good natured jousting matches in which local knights vied for the honor of crowning their lady.

One of these tournaments was captured by the pen of a guest in July 1848:

The sound of many feet and the murmur of voices rose through the vale. The crowd gathered from all points to witness the expected pageant. The rush of vehicles and horses was so great that they had to be left upon the opposite side of the river, and gentlemen and ladies were borne over in the large ferry boat as thick as they could stand, and walked thence to the Hotel. It was truly an exciting and strange sight, to see them stretching in hurried and confused step across the lawn.

At 10 o’clock the knights gave in their names to the Herald, and 18 brave and daring champions were registered. They were then ordered to prepare themselves and horses for the tournament. At 11 o’clock, the crowds gathered beneath the umbrageous and majestic elms that over hang the fountains, where they had a near and far view of the scene. The bugle then sounded and the knights, all mounted, rode in front of the assembled throng under the direction of the Herald, Dr. G[erard]. F. Mason. Dressed in peculiar and picturesque costumes, with their tall lances glittering in the sun-beams, they presented an imposing and brilliant spectacle. The President of the day, the Hon. Henry Bedinger, addressed them in such eloquent tones and elevated and inspired sentiments, that the dullest bosom was roused to the highest daring and the true spirit of ancient chivalry was revived.

The privilege of selecting the fairest from the lovely array, and crowning her the Queen of Beauty, was to be the deed of victory, and there was not one among them would not have scaled a fortress for so rich a boon. The speech of Mr. Bedinger was most appropriate and beautiful, and I regret that I cannot give it here. When he had concluded, the knights repaired to the place of starting. — Then began the most splendid contention that eye ever witnessed. It is impossible to give a detailed account of it but the horses, catching the spirit of the rider, flew like the wind, and their flashing eyes and foaming mouths betrayed the high excitement. One after another dashed away ... [illegible]

Mr. K. [the victor] ... was then requested to name the first maid of honor and selected one of the belles of Jefferson, Miss Rebecca .... Mr. Moore then named for second maid of honor, Miss Fitzhugh of Stafford, and ... Washington for third maid of honor the fair and graceful Miss .... Martin of Kentucky. After the selection [concluded], the company repaired to the Hotel, where a most sumptuous feast was spread. There with the flow of Champagne and the exchange of .... consumed the afternoon.... Every one then retired to their rooms to prepare for the Fancy Ball....

At about half past 8 o’clock, the spacious ball room was thronged with spectators awaiting the entrance of the Queen, her champion and cortege and attendants; and in truth it was a noble train worthy to be waited for. At the sound of music the folding doors at the upper end of the room were suddenly opened, and the Queen and her champion, richly dressed, in fancy costumes — the same wreath seeming to catch freshness from the [contact of] resting upon her lily brow — appeared, followed by the knights and maids of honor, and a long train of attendants, all fancifully attired. They proceeded to the far end of the room, and took their stand, where the crowd made their obeisance. Then the Queen and her champion and her three knights and maids of honor formed and danced a cotillion, and the ball was opened for the evening. I have been to many balls and have seen much in this way, but I never saw any one so bright and beautiful as this. Many whose experiences, perhaps, is greater than my own, concurred with me in opinion. The many characters that were taken, it is impossible to describe. They represented every nation, and flitted before you in such rapid succession that it was impossible to identify them. A few, however, were very conspicuous. Mr. L.[awrence] W. W[ashing]ton, as the English hunter of the 15th century, was superb; he filled the character to very life. Mr. J[ohn]. W. K[enne]dy, in the court dress of Lewis 14th looked remarkably striking and handsome.... 42

Scenes like this were repeated frequently during this period, with Southern ladies and gentlemen re-enacting Sir Walter Scott’s tales of medieval chivalry while they were waited on by Negro servants in livery.

Although every evening at the Springs was not filled with such splendor, dances were held almost nightly. Mary J. Windle, who stayed at the Springs in July 1851, described the music from the ballroom as drawing guests from their cottages on the summer evening, “and the variety of costumes and colors in constant motion formed a gay piece of human Mosaic. The hum of soft voices filled the spacious room when we entered, and bright eyes flashed in the brilliant light....” Describing the dresses of the ladies in some detail, she focuses on “miss C. A belle from Philadelphia, [who] whirled off the festivities of the evening as a partner of a young Virginian, nephew of the Secretary of War....” and “a tall, fair, fine looking girl, attired in white... Miss W., grand niece of the immortal Washington.”

She is amused by their preoccupation with the waltz, “No evening is complete without it; and to surpass all competition in dancing, the Polka is glory enough for our belles.” The writer regarded this dance as “a most monotonous amusement,” noting “An increasing circuit of the vacant space — a wreathing of arms and clasping of waists — and the only variation we were able to discover was an increase in speed, which renders the movements of the parties more conspicuous.... There must have been [illegible line] at once, passing round and round with a perseverance and solemnity perfectly astonishing, when it is remembered that many of the individuals thus engaged are delicate, fragile looking creatures, who certainly do not appear able to endure the fatigue.”43

Promoted as a “Fashionable Watering Place,” praised by Henry Howe as “easier of access from the Atlantic cities, than any others in Virginia,” Shannondale Springs drew high recommendations from the travel critics of its day. Henry Moorman, writing of its pleasures just two years before the hotel burned, noted that “The accommodations at Shannondale are not extensive, perhaps adapted to 140 to 150 persons, but it is admittedly a very delightful place.”44 China used during this period at the Springs, and possibly at other local restaurants and hotels, featured C. Burton’s 1831 illustration of the Shannondale Springs Hotel (Figure 6).

One writer of the period further advanced the Springs’ reputation when she stayed there in July and August of 1850. Mrs. Emma D.E.N. Southworth, one of the best known “female novelists” of her time, spent part of the summer there with her son Richmond and daughter Charlotte. Fleeing the oppressive heat of Washington, D.C., she joined other members of society leaving the sweltering cities and those who belived that the Springs’ iron-laden waters would protect them against the cholera epidemic that was sweeping the area. A writer to the Virginia Free Press in 1875 nostalgically recalled that, at the resort’s bowling saloon, he “had the pleasure of rolling with the distinguished authoress, Mrs. Southworth ... where, surrounded by so much of the romantic and beautiful, she no doubt received no little inspiration for her interesting novels.”45

It was here that she penned her novel Shannondale, a romantic tale with a convoluted plot, set at the estate of the fictitious Lord Summerfield. The novel has virtually nothing to do with its namesake, although it was used as an historical reference by one misguided newspaperman in the mid-1920’s. Southworth’s novel appears to be the origin of the myth about “Lover’s Leap,” a cliff overhanging the Shenandoah River across from the Springs. According to the novelist’s rendition, a beautiful Indian princess threw herself into the river after being wooed and spurned by 14 one of the white gentlemen staying at the Summerfield estate.46 The story has been used frequently to promote the hotel since the novel’s publication. (See Figures 7 and 8 and Appendix B.)

Whatever the failings that the novel Shannondale might have, there was something romantic and special about this place that drew people to it again and again. As a correspondent from the New York Herald wrote about his visit to the Springs, “We feel completely cut off, shut out, or rather shut in, from the busy, delving, money making world which we have left behind.”47

Figure 6. Plate used at Shannondale Springs which incorporates Burton's 1831 illustration. Photograph by W. Theriault, courtesy of the Jefferson County Museum. 16

Figure 7. Mrs. E.D.E.N. Southworth stayed at Shannondale Springs with her children in the summer of 1850. From the National Cyclopedia of American Biography, Vol. 1.

Figure 8. Cover from Southworth's novel, which she wrote during her stay at Shannondale Springs. Courtesy of the Jefferson County Museum