Are you thinking of downsizing, need an opportunity to make extra cash? If you would like to set up a yard sale booth downtown, call the Buchanan Downtown Revitalization Program at 540-254-1212 for additional information.

On Wednesday, April 25, Principal Debbie Garrett led students through a program to celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day. The program highlighted ways students could encourage their own families to help the planet, and, highlighted the school’s HOPE (Help Our Planet Earth) Club which is led by sponsors Heather Williams and Barbara Tames.

Guest speaker Catherine Carter spoke about ways students can recycle at home, including how to reduce waste, recycle materials such as plastic, paper and aluminum, and creative ways to reuse everyday materials for new uses. Garrett read two books to the students: one about the life cycle of a mighty oak tree from an acorn and a second accompanied by Louis Armstrong’s 1968 version of “What a Wonderful World.”

The morning’s activities culminated with students, teachers and staff proceeding outdoors to the track area where they planted a Yoshino Cherry Tree with Downtown Revitalization Program Manager Harry Gleason. The cherry tree was purchased with funds donated by the nonprofit organization Valley Beautiful. Valley Beautiful gave the town a grant of $1,600, which was used to purchase and plant trees on the Town Park and at the elementary school.

The name seems appropriate—The James River House. It’s the new name attached to the 140-year-old, three-story frame building that now serves as an “inn” in Downtown Buchanan.

Twin brothers Dan and John Mays are the proprietors, they of the Twin Rivers Outfitters that sits behind the new inn and across Lowe Street on the banks of the James River.

The inn is an endeavor that grew out of Twin Rivers Outfitters, and one that is already complementing their river float business.

The James River House in Buchanan has five guest rooms.

The Mays brothers moved Twin Rivers Outfitters from Glasgow in neighboring Rockbridge County to the banks of the James in Buchanan a couple of years ago. They bought the canoe livery business a couple of years before that, and realized being riverside would be a real plus.

As one of the leading outdoor recreation businesses in the county, they decided it would be nice to have a place in Buchanan’s downtown for more out-of-town customers to stay.

So, when the former antique shop moved across the street and out of what is locally known as the Rogers House, the brothers decided to buy the building, renovate it and turn it into an inn.

It fits nicely into Botetourt County’s tourism plan, too.

The county has just started promoting the James River as a “blue way trail.” It’s called The Upper James River Water Trail and has a website of the same name—www.upperjamesriverwatertrail.com. It tells potential visitors all about floating the James River and promotes restaurants, motels, inns and other businesses that complement the tourist trade.

The James River Inn is the largest of the other two places to stay in the town proper. The Rhein River Inn Restaurant, Bed & Breakfast is south on Main Street and has two rooms available and The Buchanan Rail Car Inn is a block off Main Street in a converted vintage 1934 Hiawatha dining car. Wattstull Court, a motel, is just northeast of town off I-81.

The Mays brothers bought the James River House 18 months ago and spent more than a year doing the renovations themselves. They previewed inn last winter during the town’s annual Christmas Homes Tour. That allowed more than 300 visitors to get a peek at the restoration.

Buchanan Downtown Revitalization Manager Harry Gleason said the home is where many of Buchanan’s residents went for piano lessons when the Rogers family owned it.

More recently, it served as home to James River Antiques.

Dan Mays, during a short tour of the inn, said by early April, they had already booked more than 30 rooms for the summer.

He thinks the inn will be a great place to stay for visitors who want to spend two or three days in the area where they can get on the river, browse the downtown’s collection of antique shops, go to nearby Natural Bridge or Peaks of Otter, take in one of the wineries or enjoy the thousands of acres of nearby national forest. In fact, among the inn’s first customers were some hunters who stayed there last fall.

The house is on the National Register as a Historic Landmark and features details of a prominent family home from the mid to late 1800s, Gleason said.

From Main Street, the prominent two-story porch and original ornate front door greets visitors. That second story porch is one of the features of the inn’s single suite—The James River Suite.

Four of the five guest rooms are named after area rivers, the Jackson, the Maury, the Cowpasture and the James River. The fifth is The Stone Room and is in the basement.

Historic features of the home include its large front hall with ornate staircase, formal parlor and dining room with pocket doors and original mantles, ornate tiles and hardwood floors.

When the Mayses started renovating, they took the interior down to the studs, saved the woodwork and put it back in place. They also moved a double pocket door from upstairs back to where it originally had been between the front parlor and formal dining room.

The brothers did most of the renovations themselves—just as they’d done when they built the headquarters for their canoe livery.

Each guest room has its own bath and each is unique. One includes an antique claw foot bathtub they cleaned up and Mays described as “very comfortable.”

The inn is decorated with a blend of contemporary and antique furnishings. The walls are decorated with an eclectic collection of art by the Mayses’ mother and Dan’s wife and other area artists who are featured in Gallery By The James, a cooperative art gallery that’s next door.

Dan Mays said right now they are getting mostly vacation rentals, some through their listing on Vacation Rental By Owner website, www.vrbo.com/276548.

By having their own guest rooms, Twin River Outfitters also is able to offer packages that combine rooms and river outings.

Visitors can rent rooms individually or the whole house is available. The whole house can accommodate up to 15 people. The rooms also have a mix of beds for a variety of visitors.

The room with the most beds, The Stone Room, is in the basement. It has six bunk beds where a family could sequester the kids if they wanted. The walls are stone and there’s a door to the fenced and walled courtyard on the northeast side of the house. There’s a flat screen TV and Xbox 360, too.

At one time, this basement room was where the home’s owners kept horses, Mays said. They had to break out the stone water trough that ran along one wall when they did renovations.

Mays said they’ll continue their renovation work by landscaping the courtyard. It actually is six or eight feet below the Main Street sidewalk that runs along one side.

As he talks about the courtyard, Mays looks skyward, up the walls of the original clapboard siding to the peak of the roofline. The burgundy paint is new. Mays says it was quite a job being on scaffolding up to the peak of the roof. “I hope we don’t have to paint it again for a while,” Mays added.

For more about the inn and Twin Rivers Outfitters, visit http://canoevirginia.net.

Botetourt County Relay for Life – Botetourt County’s Relay for Life returns to the Buchanan Town Park located at 485 Lowe Street on Friday, May 18th with the Opening Ceremony starting at 7:00pm, and the Closing Ceremony starting at 6:45 am on Saturday, May 19th. Even if you are not a member of a Relay for Life team, the American Cancer Society invites you to come and enjoy this fun filled event and support others in the fight against cancer.  

Join us as the community joins forces to raise money to fight cancer during this year’s walkathon. The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in the community a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At Relay, teams of people camp out and take turns walking or running around the track. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight.

The Town of Buchanan invites you and your family to join us on the second Friday of each month during Second Friday’s Cruise In. Save the dates of May 11th, June 8th, July 13th, August 10th and September 14^th from 5:30 p.m. through 8:30 p.m. to enjoy this family oriented activity.

 Skip the chaos of the mall to experience the slower pace of life in an historic downtown setting. Explore dozens of Antique Autos filling downtown parking lots and lining Main Street. Take advantage of extended hours offered by our downtown shops and restaurants. Downtowns businesses offer everything from antiques & art to collectibles, fresh cut flowers, produce and plants for your garden and flower beds, canoeing & river supplies, indoor black-light golf, and, so much more. Locally restaurants offer Burgers & Fries, Mexican Fare, Homemade German Specialties, Pizza, and, Good Old-Fashioned Southern Cooking. Check them out, they are waiting to serve you.  See what local vendors and Civic Organizations are offering at the Farmer’s Market Booths, enjoy 50′s music being played by a DJ, or, take in a movie at the historic Buchanan Theatre.

 For additional information, contact the Buchanan Downtown Revitalization Program at 540-254-1212, or, check our events page of the Town website at www.townofbuchanan.com

Arbor Day Fund Donation Form

For additional information, and a registration packet for reenactors and vendors click here:

Buchanan Civil War History Weekend Packet