Between 1734 John Caspar Stoever Jr., the first German Lutheran Minister in Virginia, made seven trips through the Shenandoah Valley to baptize individuals and organize churches. He, and his successor George Klug, must have been extremely successful…

According to local legends, an individual named William Powell settled in the northern end of Fort Valley during the mid-18th century. A wide array of stories has emerged about his life. Some of these are: -He was a stage coach robber who used his…

This structure housed the Zion Baptist Church for the first half of the 20th century. The property was home to a school for local African American students in 1868. This institution was sponsored by the American Missionary Association that hired…

The Pearl White Theater opened on Main Street in Edinburg sometime in the 1920s showing silent movies for between 10 and 20 cents a show. Before it was completed, movies had been shown in the town hall. Electricity for this theater was provided by a…

Around 1880, John P. Lonas of Mt. Jackson built this 2 story, l-shaped, Queen Anne style house near the south end of town. Lonas was a mercantile dealer and the success of his business is reflected in the size and design of his home. Eventually the…

The history of Otterbein Chapel can be traced back to the Funkhouser family, and their settlement along Mill Creek in the late 18th century. Jacob R. Funkhouser, a member of the third generation of that family to live in the area, was one of the…