2026-04-29T19:31:19-04:00 Zend_Feed_Writer http://shenandoahstories.org/ Shenandoah Stories http://shenandoahstories.org 2023-01-27T13:44:33-05:00 2023-01-27T13:48:04-05:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/329 Shenandoah County Library Staff Between 1867 and 1937 a school for Woodstock’s African American population was held on this property. In 1865 the Freedman’s Bureau, a Federal Agency, opened the “Lincoln School” in Woodstock for African American Students. The location of that original school is unknown, but in 1867 Mt. Zion Methodist Church opened and the school moved into that building. Enrollment for the Freedman’s School varied between 15 and 60 students between 1865 and 1870. Teachers were Rev. D.A. Miles (1865), Mary J. Knowles (1868), Missie E. Ovrette (1869) and Rev. Carter (1870). Typically, the school opened in January and closed its session in either May or June. Courses included reading, geography, arithmetic, writing, and history. A Sabbath School was also sponsored to increase educational opportunities and held every Sunday. An 1868 report noted there were an average of 25 students in that class during the year. In 1870 Virginia’s new “Underwood” Constitution was enacted and required the creation of a public school system for white and black students. Educational opportunities for grades 1-7 were provided free of charge under the new system. The Freedman’s Bureau held the last session of the “Lincoln School” that year. Presumably a new public school opened in Woodstock’s Mt. Zion Methodist Church in the fall of 1870, but no record exists indicating its location or the dates of its term. Emma Dorster was listed as the “Colored Teacher” in an April 1871 edition of the Shenandoah Herald. In November 1875 Shenandoah County Public School Superintendent John Grabill wrote the “colored” school occupied the church building and the teacher “takes a commendable interest in his school seems to be improving. Things were not necessarily easy in for this segregated school. Funding was limited and support from the general community was typically lacking. Textbooks and supplies were typically hand me down from the white schools. Teachers were paid less and had less formal education. Money for building upgrades, paint, utilities, etc. was often lacking. Parents and members of the African American community often conducted fundraisers to make up this difference. The local African American population advocated for construction of a school house. At the time, building and maintaining school buildings was under the auspice of the Woodstock School Trustees, a group appointed and funded by the Woodstock Town Council. The council had funded the purchase of a building for the white students in 1871, but would not fund the construction of a school for black students until 1882 following several years of lobbying by the African American population and the county school system. This one room, wood frame school was constructed to the rear of Mt. Zion Methodist Church on property owned by the congregation. The land was provided free of charge and funds for the school were shared between the community and town council. This provided a single class room for the students. Educational activities, such as plays, assemblies, etc. continued to be held in the church. In 1924, the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company showed the school on their fire insurance map. At the time it was a single story, wood structure, 15 feet in height and heated by a wood stove with no electric lights. It still offered classes for grades 1-7. No high school for African Americans existed in the county and students wishing to pursue their education had to travel to Manassas Virginia until a school was constructed in Winchester in the 1930s. In contrast, the Woodstock School on Court Street, utilized by white students, was a three story, brick structure, with electric lights, modern conveniences, and classes for grades 1-12. The wood frame “Colored School” would be utilized until 1937 when it was replaced by a new structure on Water Street. After this time the property was sold and the school demolished. For more (including 2 images), view the original article. 2018-06-07T11:59:08-04:00 2018-12-18T12:14:39-05:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/308 The Shenandoah Stories Team Chapin and Sachs, sometimes known as Chapin and Sacks, Manufacturing opened a plant in Woodstock Virginia in 1910 following the purchase of the A.W. Nicodemus & Sons Creamery building on what is now East Court Street which had opened in 1903. At the time Chapin and Sachs, headquartered in Washington DC, was one of the largest ice cream manufacturing concerns in the United States. Their trademark “Velvet Kind” ice cream was sold in the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, and Michigan. The Woodstock plant was one of eight facilities operated by the company. Woodstock was selected as the site for a plant due to the abundant supply of milk supplied by local dairy farms and the area’s rail connect to Washington DC markets. In 1908 Chapin and Sachs constructed a new creamery on North Street. This brick facility totaled just over 30,000 square feet, was three stories tall, had two cold storage rooms, and contained a 10 ton ice plant. A large trucking fleet collected milk from throughout the valley, travelling throughout the valley to collect milk and to distribute ice cream. Over 500 farms contributed milk. Distribution points were established as far south as Timberville and as far north as Stephens City. Over 12,000 gallons of milk were handled each day. To meet their needs a well of over 200 feet was constructed to fill a 50,000 gallon reservoir and a sewer line of over one mile in length was laid between the plant and Pughs Run south of Woodstock. Chapin and Sachs would continue to operate its Woodstock plant until around 1930 when it was sold to Southern Dairies who continued to process milk here until the 1950s. The plant was then closed and purchased by the Town of Woodstock who converted it into their public works facility. When that service moved to its current home on Moose Road in the early 2000s the former creamery was sold to a private developer and is today vacant. For more, view the original article. 2017-10-24T12:00:36-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:22-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/291 The Shenandoah Stories Team In 1940 William Dalke and his family completed a new movie theatre on this site in Woodstock. At the time it was one of two theatres operated by the Dalkes in Woodstock and one of several in their chain of movie houses in Shenandoah County. When it was built this structure was one of the newest and most modern theatres in the area. The building was constructed in the popular Art Deco Style and housed two businesses on the first floor along with the theatre. It could accommodate 350 persons in the main theatre and 150 more in its balcony. Movies were held regularly every night, several times on Saturday, and at a Sunday matinee. Travelling troops and community organizations also regularly conducted performances on the theatre’s stage, including westerns complete with horses. In an era before television and computers, it was one of the community’s most popular entertainment venues. During the Second World War the Community Theatre became an important part of the local war effort. Its primary function was to provide information to the community. Newsreels that provided updates on the war and the Homefront were shown regularly before movies and at special showings. In addition to providing news service, the Dalke family also turned the theatre into collection centers. Locals were invited to bring scrap items, fats, clothes, books, or other items in place or regular admission on special days. Informational films that promoted increased agricultural yields, war spirit, and bon sales were also shown. After the war the Dalke’s continued to operate, and expand this theatre and their chain. Two additional screens were added to the Community Theatre in the 1970s and 1980s. However, competition from television and larger theaters in other communities led to the closure of many of the Dalke’s movie houses. However, Community remained opened and was sold in 2008 to the Garman family who continue to operate the theatre. For more, view the original article. 2017-10-06T17:07:57-04:00 2022-07-21T15:37:59-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/269 The Shenandoah Stories Team The 1885 Lake's Atlas of Shenandoah and Page Counties notes the "Shenandoah House" stood on this site. It would have served travelers on the Valley Turnpike and from the nearby rail line. Sometime in the last decade of the 19th century/first decade of the 20th century the Holtzman family purchased the structure and renamed it the Hotel Holtzman. It was one of many such businesses they operated in several county towns. In 1907 the Shenandoah Herald reported it was one of the last two bars operating in the Town of Woodstock. The Holtzman Hotel's bar would operate until alcohol was outlawed in 1907. At the time the Shenandoah Herald reported only it and the Holtzman Hotel across the street were operating bars. It, and the Geary Hotel across the street generated over $500 annually in town liquor taxes so their business must have been brisk. Lawyers representing the two businesses fought efforts to outlaw alcohol, but they were unsuccessful. The "dry" won by one vote. On September 26, 1916 the Holtzman Hotel was the site of an address by Lila Valentine, President of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia. The Shenandoah Herald noted it was an "excellent address" and would have been designed to promote the women's suffrage movement in Shenandoah County. The hotel would operate into the 1920s when it was purchased by the Dalke Family. They opened the Uptown Theater here and rented commercial space in the front to a barbershop. After the Dalke's opened the Community Theater two blocks away the Uptown Theater primarily showed westerns and other cheaper films. In 1947 a fire heavily damaged the building and it was demolished. In 1974 Shenandoah County purchased this land and built a new circuit court house here. For more (including 2 images), view the original article. 2017-10-06T15:05:01-04:00 2018-12-18T12:12:07-05:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/263 The Shenandoah Stories Team Starting in the 1920s, clothing and textile manufacturing became prominent industries in the Shenandoah Valley. One group that operated in the area was the Casey Jones Work-Clothes Company. They opened plants in Woodstock, Mt. Jackson, Shenandoah, Luray, and Elkton which produced denim overalls and provided steady employment to hundreds of locals, including women who had previously been excluded from many industrial jobs. During WWII, their operations expanded and the Woodstock plant on E. Court St. became a major producer of dungarees for the Navy. Business was so good weekly payroll often exceeded $5,000, or approximately $90,000 in today’s currency. In September 1943, that plant was awarded the Army-Navy “E” Award of Excellence presented to companies who achieved “Excellence in Production” of war equipment. Only 5% of the more than 85,000 companies involved in producing materials for the US military’s war effort earned that honor. Not long after they received this award, Casey Jones was purchased by Blue Bell Inc., who later introduced Wrangler Jeans. They continued to operate the plant on E. Court St. until 1956 when a new factory opened on the south end of town. Over the next several decades this building would be a realty office and retail shop. In the 1980s and 1990s it was home to a radio station and Channel 10 TV which covered Woodstock area news. Today it is home to the Woodstock Brew House. They produce a wide array of local brews and maintain a series of 12 beers on tap at all times. In addition they serve food on weekends and utilize locally grown products when possible. For more (including 2 images), view the original article. 2017-10-05T14:35:33-04:00 2023-09-08T11:29:17-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/253 The Shenandoah Stories Team Sometime in the 1880s Lin Irwin's Drug Store opened on the first floor of the Irwin Opera House located at the corner of Main and Court Street in Woodstock. In 1906 Clyde E. Walton and Dr. James H. Smoot purchased the drug store and changed the name to Walton and Smoot. It became one of the town's two major drug stores, the other being Schmitts two buildings down. Besides creating and providing medicine, Walton and Smoot was, and still is, a multipurpose store. It served food, sold a wide array of goods, and for a long period operated a bar and sold beer. An early postcard showing the interior had the hand written notation "Beefstew-Bar-Cold Beer added before it was sent. Soon after purchasing the business, Walton and Smoot moved the drug store to the Magruder Building which was located on North Main Street at the corner of Court Square. In 1935 H.A. Moore and George Clower purchased the business from Dr. Smoot who had previously become the sole owner of the drug store. They continued to operate it under the Walton and Smoot name. Milson S. French purchased George Clower’s share of the business in July of 1952. French, a graduate of the Medical College of Virginia, later became sole owner of the store. He moved the drug store moved to its current home, the former site of the Geary and Woodstock Hotels, in 1968 when the Magruder Building was demolished to make way for a new brick office building. A fire heavily damaged the building in 1975 but the store reopened. It operated until 2019. The building stands vacant as of 2023. For more (including 6 images), view the original article. 2017-09-26T15:38:42-04:00 2023-09-08T11:32:04-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/189 The Shenandoah Stories Team In 1875, Mike Geary purchased this lot in downtown Woodstock and opened Geary's Hotel. What existed before is unknown. The three-story brick hotel featured accommodations for travelers, large front portions over looking the valley turnpike, a dining room, and a popular bar located on the north end of the building. On October 8, 1878, Mike Geary advertised that "the bar will be stocked with the best liquors, such all pure homemade whiskey and apple brandy, bottled and draft beer, brown stout and porter." In 1892, he proudly announced "the Celebrated Globe Beer is for Sale at Geary's, Here." An August 14, 1900 fire gutted the hotel and a portion of the business block where it stood. Geary rebuilt the structure and once again became a thriving business. During the renovations, the hotel operated out of the neighboring Koontz building. When Woodstock debated outlawing alcohol purchases in 1907, the Shenandoah Herald reported the Geary and the Holtzman Hotel across the street were operating bars that earned the town over $500 annually in liquor taxes. Despite the profitability of alcohol sales here and efforts by the hotels’ legal teams, the town went dry that year and the bar at the Geary became a Café. In the 1930s Massanutten Military Academy purchased the hotel and renamed it Hotel Woodstock. It continued to cater to travelers visiting the area, but also welcomed official academy guests and parents. They also developed the hotel’s dining facilities, making its banquet hall a central community meeting place. Changes including removal of the large porches, instillation of several balconies, and plumbing. Sometime after 1950 the Hotel closed as travelers’ tastes turned away from older, large hotels in favor of new auto courts and motels. In 1968 the building was remodeled and became home to Walton and Smoot Drug Store which remained open until 2019. It still stands in Downtown Woodstock. For more (including 4 images), view the original article. 2017-09-26T15:07:34-04:00 2019-07-09T11:40:55-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/186 The Shenandoah Stories Team A well-known tavern and stage shop was built on this site sometime before 1835. Originally it was known as Welch's Tavern. It served travelers passing through Woodstock on what became the Valley Turnpike. During the antebellum period, it changed hands several times and was known variously as Fravel and later Reamer’s Tavern. Both Andrew Jackson and Millard Filmore were reported to have stayed here. Between 1892 and 1909, the building was owned by the Shockey family and from thereafter the area became known as Shockey Flatts. In the 1920s, it added gas pumps to accommodate the new automobiles traveling on Route 11. It was torn down in 1935 by Burgess Nelson to make room for a gas station. For more, view the original article. 2017-09-13T14:25:54-04:00 2018-12-18T12:15:33-05:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/154 The Shenandoah Stories Team In 1977 the Johns Manville Corporation opened a new manufacturing plant between Edinburg and Woodstock. It was listed as being just over 330,000 square feet and contained three rail spurs, an emergency power supply, and its own water and sewer systems. The Manville Plant produced commercial roofing material and insulation systems that were created from a wide array of natural products imported to the county via the Norfolk and Southern Railroad line adjacent to the site. Approximately 250 persons were employed here at the height of production. Over the next thirty years the local John Mansville site would survive the company’s 1982 bankruptcy, several fires, and economic shifts. Its role in the local economy, along with other manufacturing plants, could not be overstated. However, in 2007 the company made the decision to close its Edinburg Plant as part of an effort to streamline production following an economic downturn. In 2009 the site was sold to a firm in Luray Virginia who planned to process wood products there. However, that organization sold it at a foreclosure sale three years later. Today the former plant is owned by Andros Foods who uses it as a warehouse. For more (including 7 images), view the original article. 2017-07-20T10:51:45-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:21-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/150 The Shenandoah Stories Team Sometime in the late 19th century Joseph Russell Miller opened a tailor shop on Main Street in Woodstock. A native of Hardy County West Virginia, Miller had moved to Woodstock as a child and was trained as a tailor in a Frederick County shop. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, his business would have been a popular place for individuals looking for suits, shirts, ties, and other custom made clothes. The popularity of his shop made Miller a wealthy and prominent member of local society. He owned a large home on the intersection of Spring and Muhlenberg Streets in Woodstock, was a member of the local Masonic Lodge, and according to his obituary was “actively involved in community issues.” In 1947 a fall that fractured his hip forced Miller to retire. In died in 1953. Today, the site of his shop at 118 N. Main Street houses Old River Creative. For more (including 2 images), view the original article.