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
Strasburg Passenger Depot
In 1878 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad completed this passenger depot in Strasburg Virginia. It replaced an earlier station constructed by the Manassas Gap Railroad in 1854 near the current site of…
Shenandoah Caverns
In 1884 individuals construction workers building the Shenandoah Valley Railroad accidentally discovered a caverns west of Mt. Jackson.
Though locals had called the area Forestville for years, in…
Columbia Furnace Stables
Columbia Furnace Stables are one of the original buildings associated with that industrial complex. Though the exact date when they were built is unrecorded, architectural evidence and oral history…
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
Jessie Rupert School House
Sometime around 1868, New Market resident Jessie Rupert constructed this building at 9401 Congress Street. The structure, originally three stories tall, served as her residence and a school.
Rupert, born May 15, 1831, had considerable experience…
St. John Bosco Catholic Church
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…
Welchs Tavern
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…
Shenandoah County Jail
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…
Edinburg Depot
In March 1900 the Southern Railway completed construction of this passenger depot in Edinburg Virginia. Located beside the tracks near what is now the Dollar General Store parking lot, the depot was closed in 1946. It was moved several blocks west to…
Edinburg Fire
Fire has always been a threat to any town in America. Edinburg is not immune. This photograph shows the downtown area after it had been ravaged by a destructive fire in December of 1895. The configuration destroyed six homes, the Edinburg Sentinel…