You don’t have to be a Gettysburg Battle buffto enjoy a stay at the Doubleday Inn, but ifyou are, you can’t get any more “battlefieldy” than this. The Doubleday is the only B&B that is actually on the Gettysburg Battlefield. Situated upon Oak Ridge, with a view of the town of Gettysburg a halfmile away, the inn nestles in a grove of trees on a monument-lined road, with the Railroad Cut, the Peace Light Memorial, and an observation platform all just a few steps from the door.
In 1994 Charles Wilcox, a financier in the futures industry, and his wife, Ruth Anne, a registered nurse, gave up their jobs and moved from Illinois to pursue their dream of owning and operating an inn. They bought the Doubleday, named after Abner Doubleday, the man who “invented” baseball and who also, as Brigadier General, commanded the Union forces the first day of the battle on what is now the site of the inn.
Charles and Ruth Anne brought with them loads of Colonial country furniture and scoured Pennsylvania and Ohio for suitable period antiques. The recently redecorated bedrooms are a mix of four-posters, brass beds, iron beds, and an oak pineapple bed. Two rooms are what Ruth Anne calls “Grandma’s rooms,” with thick quilts and old-fashioned fabric prints. Another room has a Laura Ashley look. The third-floor attic room is more masculine, with dark greens and reds, bookcases, and both a double and a twin bed.
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