The Marquis building at the corner of Beverly and Augusta streets in downtown Staunton was built in 1896 by Caroline “Lina” Marquis.
The widow of Capt. James Marquis, Caroline Marquis, bought the lot for $4,000 after her husband’s death at age 66 in 1893. In 1896, the building was completed after one year of construction at a cost of $9,000. Capt. Marquis was president of the board of directors of Thornrose Cemetery at the time of his death and served the Confederacy in the American Civil War.
The GFWC Staunton-Augusta Junior Women’s Club offers the Marquis building at 2 East Beverley Street in a Christmas tree ornament for the 2024 season.
“I think it’s fascinating to uncover history, especially women’s history in Staunton,” said former club president Ilia Desjardins, who researched the building’s history. “And, it’s not that it was buried history.”
Desjardins said the assumption was that the building was built for Capt. Marquis, who owned a bank in Staunton, but it was Caroline Marquis’s idea to build the structure, which housed a pharmacy and jewelry store on the first floor with medical offices on the second floor and architect TJ Collins‘ offices on the third floor.
“It’s a very popular building. It’s one of the most recognizable buildings in downtown Staunton,” Desjardins said.
According to Desjardins, private residences are on the two top floors now and the Beverley Cigar Store is on the first floor. Ironically, a cigar store also occupied the first floor in the 1890s.
When Capt. Marquis, who served on Staunton City Council and was a member of Stonewall Jackson camp, Confederate veterans and a Masonic order, died, his widow inherited $100,000. Desjardins said the money was probably the funds she brought to the marriage. Her father was Thomas Blackburn.
Capt. and Caroline Marquis are both buried in Thornrose Cemetery in Staunton.
Ornaments are $25 each and available for purchase online. Ornaments will also be sold in-person on December 5, 2024, from 5 to 7 p.m. and December 7 from 9 a.m. to noon at St. John’s United Methodist Church, 1716 N. Augusta Street, Staunton.
The women’s club has sold Christmas tree ornaments since 1993 when the ornament was of the Clocktower Restaurant on Beverley Street in downtown Staunton.
Proceeds from the sale of Christmas ornaments go toward two $1,000 scholarships for Staunton or Augusta County young women pursuing secondary education after high school.
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Staunton: Gypsy Hill Park commemorated in Christmas tree ornament
Junior Women’s Club Christmas tree ornament honors Staunton Black community
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Rebecca Barnabi
