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Mary Brown, 75, has been working in the kitchen of Allman's Barbecue Pit for the past 49 years. Some of the recipes used at the eatery come from Brown and her ancestors. Peter Cihelka/Staff photographer None

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Seven Wonders of Fredericksburg

Date published: 7/15/2007

AFTER YEARS of online polling, the new Seven Wonders of the World were unveiled last Sunday.

And while the Great Wall of China is indeed impressive, for local folks Carl's ice cream stand is tops.

Free Lance-Star readers were asked to choose seven Fredericksburg-area wonders. In addition to Carl's, they voted for historic sites including Sunken Road/Marye's Heights and Kenmore, as well as landmarks including downtown's Purina Tower and Allman's Bar-B-Q on U.S. 1.

The Rappahannock River earned quite a few nods, as did the Civil War cannonballs embedded in the front of the Presbyterian Church in Fredericksburg.

The newspaper's online poll included 36 local landmarks, but voters offered write-in candidates as well, including Alum Spring Park, Chatham and the Fredericksburg Agricultural Fair.

Eat your heart out, Taj Mahal.

183 votes--Carl's has been a rich, creamy staple of Fredericksburg since 1947 when Carl Sponseller opened the Princess Anne Street shop in a former service station. The existing building, constructed in 1953, was frequented by the likes of Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien, a fan of chocolate shakes, and a teenage Al Gore, whose uncle owned an inn across the street. It was big news in 1999 when the Carl's line ceased winding around the side and back of the building and was shifted to the front. 134 votes--The Rappahannock River stretches about 184 miles from Rappahannock County in the west to the Chesapeake Bay. Tobacco, salted fish, grains and iron ore made their way down the river during Colonial days, and during the Civil War the waterway stymied Union troops trying to move south to Richmond. These days, it's known more for its recreational value. Fishermen, kayakers, canoeists and swimmers pack the river on sunny days, though visitors are urged to be careful: Like anything else in nature, the Rappahannock River is untamed and sometimes unpredictable. 130 votes--Sunken Road and Marye's Heights played a part in the Battle of Fredericksburg on Dec. 13, 1862, one of the most decisive Confederate victories of the Civil War. Confederate soldiers awaited an approaching Union army from atop Marye's Heights and behind the stone wall along Sunken Road. When the battle was over, 12,600 Union soldiers were dead, more than twice the number of Confed- erate casualties. After the war, a 12-acre parcel on Marye's Heights was dedicated as a national cemetery for the 15,000 Union soldiers who died in fighting in this area. 92 votes--The cannonballs lodged in the Presbyterian Church in Fredericksburg struck the church during the Civil War. The original pilaster at the entrance's far left was destroyed, and these cannonballs, pulled from the wreckage, were incorporated when the church was rebuilt after the war. 90 votes--Kenmore was built in the 1770s by Fielding Lewis and his wife, Betty Washington Lewis, George Washington's sister. The Georgian mansion on Washington Avenue was originally part of a 1,300-acre plantation that included tobacco, wheat and corn fields, as well as a store and a shipyard on the Rappahannock River. The property, declared a national historic landmark in 1970, is undergoing renovations. 77 votes--Allman's Bar-B-Q on U.S. 1 has been serving up roast pork and slaw since 1954--most of that time under the watchful eyes of Mary "Mom" Brown, 75 (above). Gov. Gerald Baliles, during his 1986 commencement address at Mary Washington College, called Allman's a "national treasure." Other fans have included Govs. Charles Robb and Linwood Holton and TV weatherman Willard Scott. Southern Living magazine in 2003 listed it as one of six must-see barbecue stops in Virginia. 72 votes--The Purina Tower's red-and-white checkerboard pattern makes it a notable landmark on Fredericksburg's skyline. The former grain elevator was built shortly after the warehouse next door opened in 1919. The tower has recently been renovated by owner Hamilton G. Palmer.

Date published: 7/15/2007

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