Fast Food, 1860's style

When I saw this marker in front of the Exchange Hotel Museum in Gordonsville, I thought it was probably a Civil War Trails marker. However, it turns out to commemorate "Gordonsville's Legendary Chicken Vendors."

Here's the first part of the text:

"Fried Chicken Capital of the World"

January 1, 1840 celebrated the arrival of the Louisa Railroad to Gordonsville. The introduction of rail service contributed to the growth and vitality of the town as a prime rail junction. The two railroads that formed the junction were the Virginia Central, formerly the Louisa Railroad and now renamed the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and the Orange & Alexandria, now known as the Orange, Alexandria and Manassas.

With the introduction of rail service, enterprising African-American women commenced a tradition that was to symbolize Gordonsville forever as the "Fried Chicken Capital of the World".

Early passenger trains did not enjoy the luxury of dining cars and were greeted by "Waiter Carriers" who later became known as "Chicken Vendors". The women balanced platters of fried chicken on their heads and served hungry passengers through open windows.

The Gordonsville Exchange Hotel opened in 1860 and provided an elegant stopping place for passengers on the Virginia Central Railway until March 1862, when the Army of Northern Virginia transformed the Exchange Hotel into Gordonsville Receiving Hospital. During the Civil War, the "Chicken Vendors" served thousands of hungry soldiers on the trains.

Want to read more? See www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=4772.