This is a great place to sit and watch trains all day. Gordonville Virginia is the site where several lines of the same railroad converged, The railroad is a very important part of the town's history.

This article traces the history of Gordonsville, from its origin as a tavern at the crossing of two turnpikes to current revitalization efforts, with an emphasis on the role of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and its predecessors.

In 1787, Nathaniel Gordon purchased 1,350 acres of land at the crossroads of the Fredericksburg Great Road and the Richmond Road and built his house there. By 1794 he was running a tavern at the site, and it soon became a stage coach stop. The Gordon establishment was famous for its chicken dinners and was once described by President Jefferson as a "good house."

A post office was established there in 1813, with Gordon as the first postmaster. Though Gordon had originally called his plantation Newville, the new Post Office was called Gordonsville.

In February of 1836, an event occurred in neighboring Louisa County that had a profound effect on Gordonsville's fortunes. A charter was granted to build a railroad, called the Louisa Railroad, from a point near Taylorsville on the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac (RF&P) line to Gordonsville.