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Cheri and Martin’s first collaboration began with the purchase of the Atkins’ home in Sperryville—the same site that has now been reborn as the Long View Gallery. Back in 1977 though, the WoodardRappahannock aesthetic first appeared as Faith Mountain Herbs and Antiques, and that venture in itself was a Sperryville trend setter.
It was the first commercial establishment in the community that sought to serve a little different clientele. It offered medicinal and culinary herbs as well as antiques and local crafts, and emerged as a draw for both tourists and local residents.
The Woodards correctly anticipated the negative effect of the 1-66 extension to Front Royal on local tourism in 1980, and had hedged their bets by creating a catalog division of their Faith Mountain operation. That proved to be more than successful, and enabled Martin to sell the masonry business so that he could focus on Faith Mountain’s growth and operation.
A continuing string of successes brought the company its new headquarters and a new retail outlet at the old schoolhouse in Sperryville, and the honor of being the largest employer in the County. It also created a void in the village of Sperryville with the temporary abandonment of the original Faith Mountain store.
It is likely that the old Faith Mountain site was never fully abandoned in the minds of its owners. The Woodards had collected art and crafts for twenty years, and Martin had always had a desire to return to watercolor painting. Their sale of their majority interest in the Faith Mountain Company a year ago left Cheri and Martin as semi-retirees,
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