These photographs, taken in September and December of 1926, show various scenes from Woodstock and surrounding areas. Some of the places shown are: -The Woodstock Passenger Depot on Court Street. Constructed in 1885 this ornate, limestone…

The first Lutheran Church in Woodstock predated the arrival of the town’s founder Jacob Mueller. Local German residents had felt the need for a place to practice their Lutheran faith and had therefore constructed a modest wooden structure in the…

St. John’s Bosco is a product of the influx of Irish immigrants who came to Shenandoah County in the mid to late 19th century to work on the local railroads. Two of these individuals, Michael Geary and Patrick Reiley, organized and built the original…

In November 1769 the Governor, Council, and Burgesses of the Colony of Virginia approved an act that created the Beckford Parish of the Episcopal, then Anglican Church. As defined, Beckford covered what is now Shenandoah County Virginia. Since the…

In 1834 Dr. John G. Schmitt, a Swiss immigrant, arrived in Woodstock Virginia. Schmitt, who was physician, soon opened a drug store on Main Street. In those days, before modern medical practices, a doctor often served as both your doctor and…

Massanutten Academy began in September of 1899 when the Virginia Classis of the Reformed Church opened the school in the residence of former US Senator H.H. Riddleberger which had been enlarged to serve as classrooms and the boy’s dormitory. The…

Constructed in 1906, this building replaced a stone jail that had been built 100 years earlier. That structure featured a jail yard, wooden fence, and small, dark cells that were called the “dungeon.” This new jail was designed to improve…

In the summer of 1908 the Woodstock School Trustees completed this new, brick High School to serve as the area’s Graded and High School. Plans for it were started in 1906 and construction began the following year. A private donation of $3,000 from…