From Natural Bridge to Brownsburg, with a multitude of stops in between, the Rockbridge area is an antique lover’s paradise.

Drawing on the rich heritage of the Shenandoah Valley, plus the Civil War history of Lexington, local antique dealers offer the area’s flavor in everything from coins to coffee grinders to curio cabinets. Thanks to the presence of two antique malls, and a number of independent shops, there’s something for almost everyone, from the curiosity seeker to the avid antique collector.

Those who like to stroll and browse might start their search for the unique and unusual at either of the antique malls. Duke’s Lexington Antique Center, which is located north of Lexington off U.S. 11, just past Wal-Mart, offers a dizzying variety of goods, ranging from furniture to toys to old newspapers and vintage comic books. There’s also a wide selection of “yard art” out front.

“We have 200-plus dealers and consigners, plus some artisans,” said Duke Snyder, the mall’s owner. Snyder, a Hot Springs native who has been in the antique business since he was a teen-ager, says the motto of his business is “seeing is believing.”

With those words in mind, a visitor to Duke’s is advised to look up while walking through the mall: not only are there items of all kinds to one’s right and left, but there are still more curiosities hanging from the ceiling. Two of Snyder’s personal favorites are a stuffed bear holding a gun—“I tell people, that’s your Second Amendment right at work, the right to bear arms,” a chuckling Snyder explained—and a large sign from North Carolina that proclaims, “Duke Power.”

Snyder takes great pride not only in his dealers and their offerings, but also in the facility itself, which was designed specifically for the antique mall. Shallow booths enable shoppers to see what each dealer is offering without having to wade into the booth itself, and stadium lighting gives the mall a bright and inviting atmosphere.

Snyder hopes to put in a café soon, but in the meantime, he strives to keep customers happy with free drinks, cookies and cheesecake. Dogs are allowed inside the mall, and Snyder hopes to add a kennel at some point.

Duke’s Lexington Antique Center is open 365 days a year, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The phone number is 463-9511.

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Also just off U.S. 11, in the College Square Shopping Center near Peebles, is The Antique Mall. Owner Butch Reid is going into his fourth year at the business, and so far, he’s got over 170 dealers. Customers come from as far away as the District of Columbia and Maryland, plus all over Virginia and West Virginia. “We’ve built up a repeat customer base,” said Reid, who runs the business with the assistance of manager Gloria Fridley.

Part of The Antique Mall’s appeal, said Reid, is the fact that prices aren’t set in stone. “We love to dicker,” said Reid. “We love to bargain and dicker. We run it like a Mom and Pop antique mall, where people used to dicker.”

Among the goods to dicker over at Reid’s enterprise are vintage toys, old books, kitchenware and a wide selection of furniture. What won’t fit inside is parked, placed or put outside—and the current offerings range from a sulky intended for harness racing to a relatively obscure old car, a 1929 Willys Knight.

Shopping at The Antique Mall is never the same experience twice, as items turn over quickly. “We’re a stuff mall,” Reid explained. “We don’t just sell antiques. We sell stuff people need.”

The Antique Mall is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The phone number is 464-5555.

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While the antique malls offer something for everyone, the Rockbridge area also has a number of antique dealers with more specialized offerings, each aimed at a customer with a distinct taste in styles and furnishings.

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Antique lovers would do well to make the drive to Antiques by Braford, located off Va. 130 between Natural Bridge and Glasgow, . Owner Peg Braford has been a fixture in the local antiques community for many years.

Braford concentrates on 18^th and 19^th century furniture, along with silver and some crystal. She also loves paintings—as a walk through her shop will quickly attest—as well as statuary, which fills a patio adjacent to the shop.

Many of her pieces show an Asian influence, the result of two trips to China and one to Thailand. Closer to home, there’s also a print of Natural Bridge, taken from the September 1888 issue of Harper’s Weekly.

As is typical for someone who has been in business for many years, Braford says that word of mouth is her best advertising. She’s also helped by two signs along U.S. 11 that advertise the shop, and over the years, a number of parents of Washington and Lee University students have become part of Braford’s repeat customer base. In addition to her antiques business, Braford has a guest cottage for rent on her property that’s become popular with W&L parents.

Antiques by Braford is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The phone number is 291-2217.

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At the other end of the county is the historic 18^th century village of Brownsburg, home to Old South Antiques. Owner Dick Barnes has been in business for almost 20 years, offering a wide selection of early American and primitive pieces.

Barnes, a Tennessee native who moved to Lexington when he became executive director of Kappa Alpha in 1985, said that his love of antiques began when a friend took him antiquing one day. “From there it just grew and grew and grew,” he said. “My furniture outgrew my house.”

Since retiring from Kappa Alpha in 1995, Barnes has concentrated on his antique business, which is housed in what used to be Brownsburg’s general store. Like Braford, Barnes has built up a repeat customer base despite a location that’s somewhat off the beaten path.

“I have a nice clientele from parents of VMI and W&L students,” said Barnes. Many customers, he said, are shopping for furnishings for second homes.

Old South specializes in furniture with its original paint and coverings. Barnes said he’s found that “good Southern pieces” are always in demand, particularly those made of woods such as cherry, walnut and pine.

“The better the antique, the quicker it sells,” said Barnes. “Good quality things are good sellers and that’s what people are looking for.”

In addition to antiques, Old South now features an art gallery showcasing the work of four Brownsburg-area artists: Katherine March, Alice Ireland, Dick Fowlkes and Betsy Morgan.

Old South Antiques is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The phone number is 348-5360.

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A short, scenic drive from Old South is Valley of Virginia Wildflowers and Country Antiques. As its name suggests, Jim and Susan McDowell’s business includes not just antiques, but nature trails through six acres of meadows overflowing with black-eyed susans, purple cornflowers, poppies, lupine and much more.

Over the past 10 years, the McDowells have restored a circa 1788 brick farmhouse, Spring Valley Manor, along with several vintage outbuildings. Parts of the house, plus the outbuildings, are used to display a wide assortment of American country antiques, most with a Shenandoah Valley flavor.

In what used to be a dining room/kitchen combination, primitive pieces such as pie safes, chimney cupboards and jelly cabinets line the walls, with quilts hanging above them. Scented candles fill the manor house’s old summer kitchen, while white-enameled cookware lines the shelves in the old spring house.

“We want everything to have that same warm feel of early American country,” said Susan McDowell.

The McDowells have been antique collectors since the early 1970s—and Susan McDowell spent several years immersed in the past while working as a costumed tour guide at Colonial Williamsburg. She opened Valley of Virginia Country Antiques at the intersection of U.S. 11 and Mt. Atlas Road in November 1996, and then moved the business to her home once restoration work was complete at Spring Valley Manor.

Valley of Virginia Wildflower Meadows and Country Antiques is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The phone number is 348-5885.