Two blocks from the National Cemetery and the visitor center is a tan, Gothic-structured house with chocolate-brown trim and a gabled roof. In 1868, when a Mr. Rupp built the clapboard house, his tannery business was right next door. Charlotte Swope’s grandfather bought the house in 1920; she and her husband, Jule, turned it into a bed-and-breakfast in 1989 and named it after the tannery, which is no longer standing. Debbie and Charlie Raffenesbergerbought the place in 1996 and have maintained its inter-esting blend of periods: Light, clean-lined modernism meets lofty Victoriana, and the charm still manages to shine through. Guest rooms are decorated with soothing Williamsburg colors and new carpeting. You will find traditional reproductions and a handful of family antiques. There’s a wide, airy porch where you can sit and rock and watch a world of Civil War buffs go by.
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