Mt. Zion Lutheran Church, lovingly called the “beautiful church on the hilltop,” dates to 1829 when Abraham Smutz and his family sold a parcel of land to a group of church trustees. This land contained a house that the deed required to be used as a…

The first school in the St. Luke community dates to before 1841. That year the school building, and a parcel of land, was deeded to a group of school trustees who agreed to use the building and land as a Union Church and school. This original…

In 1905 Charles D. Zirkle, who was on his deathbed, donated 45 acres of his property to the Virginia Conference of Seven Day Adventist to build a school. Two years later construction began on the main building of what was then the New Market Academy.…

In 1874 Edinburg’s citizens began a lottery to fund the construction of a school in town. These efforts proved to be successful, and in 1876 what became known as the Edinburg Graded and High School, or the Cedar Hill Academy, was opened. The…

In 1965 the Lutheran Congregations of St. Davids and Mt. Zion Churches agreed to end the 75 year old dispute that had separated them. This effort was a result of several decades of improved relations that had led to joint Sunday Schools and Youth…

In the spring 1934 a serious fire destroyed a large portion of the Columbia Furnace School which dated to 1911. The Shenandoah County School Board made the decision to replace the damaged structure with an entirely new building. This school house…