Shenandoah Stories
A project by Shenandoah County LibraryJoin us in our efforts to explore the history and culture of Shenandoah County Virginia through our web based tour platform Shenandoah Stories. Click a site on the map, select a tour, or view a random story to begin. Read more About Us
Featured Stories
Liberty Furnace
In 1821 Walter Newman purchased approximately 900 acres in the western part of Shenandoah County and one year later began mining and refining iron ore in the area. He called his production facility…
Maurertown Brethren Church
The history of the Maurertown Brethren Church begins in 1885 when the Shiloh Brethren Church was founded by E.B. Shaver. He, and others, split from the Valley Pike Church of the Brethren and sought to…
Bowman Apple Products Plant
In the summer of 1939 Charles Bowman, a Mt. Jackson Orchard Owner, and his two sons Gordon and Courtland traveled to New York State to purchase the bankrupt Gilbert Apple Products plant just north of…
Featured Tours
African Americans in Shenandoah County
13 Locations ~ Curated by Shenandoah County LibrarySpirits, Stills, and Temperance: Tracing the History of Alcohol in Shenandoah County
20 Locations ~ Curated by Shenandoah County LibraryFarms, Factories, and the Frontlines: Shenandoah County in the World Wars
10 Locations ~ Curated by The Shenandoah Stories TeamRandom Stories
Mt. Jackson Colored Cemetery
Sometime after the Civil War, Levi Rinker of Mt. Jackson donated a plot of land to that town’s African American community to serve as their cemetery. Later, an additional lot owned by Amanda Thorpe was also deeded to the cemetery.
This separate…
Asbury Memorial Methodist Church
Sometime in 1873 the African American residents of New Market Virginia were able to dedicate a new Methodist Church for them to worship in. Records indicate that this congregation had been founded sometime in the late 1860s, most likely by travelling…
Smith Creek Baptist Church
The Smith Creek Baptist Church was formed on August 6, 1756. The area that is now known as New Market was called Crossroads because it was at the intersection of the area’s major north-south and east-west roads. A community had emerged around this…
Resthaven Inn
This structure, located at 310 N. Main Street, was built sometime before the Civil War by a “Dr. Reidel” for his sister Daisy McGinnis who operated a boarding school. The school was very popular and attracted not only local students but also…
Edinburg Hotel
In 1898, an Edinburg City Directory noted the Eureka House stood on this site. It was the town’s only hotel and was primarily designed to serve travelers on the adjacent rail line. J.F. Holtzman owned the structured and leased it to W.F. Whitman and…
Woodstock Depot
Trains belong to the Manassas Gap Railroad first arrived in Woodstock on August 27, 1856. The following year, a two stall engine house was constructed near this site. This structure would be destroyed during the Civil War.
In 1885 a depot was…