Mountain

Mountain

Spring

Antiques

& Bargains

Also

miniature

horses

BY LEE COGHLAN

Rappahannock News Special Writer

John Munson’s first attempt at selling antiques should be a hit. He has got all the ingredients: location, product and a great place for display. The building used to be a motor lodge from the 40’s through the early 70’s. It looks like a Dutch gingerbread house with four mini-cottages to the right. Now the whole facility will house Munson’s wares.

“Everything from A to Z,” Munson says, “for the past couple years, I’ve been buying estates. That’s what supplies the products here. I go all over Virginia up to Maryland to auction houses and estate sales. I was coming back from Charlottesville one day from an auction and this place had a for rent sign on it. So I called the number and the previous owner said ‘Come on down to my house and talk to me.’ So I went to his house and ended up buying the place, because I had a need for a retail outlet for my merchandise.”

“We buy lots of different estates, the contents of the estate, and end up with lots of different personalities. Sometimes you do well and sometimes you don’t. You have to make a reasonable offer that’s good for both the buyer and the seller.”

Munson believes, “Presentation is 99 percent of selling something and this place is so charming. That’s everyone’s first reaction. People will want to stop and with the miniature horses, it’s just too inviting.”

Yes, out in the front yard are miniature horses. Munson has 20 of them at home and is planning on buying more. He is currently showing and selling them at Mountain Spring. People buy them now as pets. Munson plans to have a miniature horse park in back of the building by the fall, with hayrides or a stagecoach pulled by the horses. He would also like to do shows with the horses and hold birthday parties for children at Mountain Spring.