In June 1913 Reverend Nickens, a Baptist minister and native of Strasburg, preached a service in that town. His actions must have inspired local African American's of the Baptist faith for just over a month later they began raising money to build a…

Columbia Furnace was most likely established during the first decade of the 19th century. The community sprang up after George Mayberry & Company, working with the Pennybackers, located an iron deposit nearby and began a mining and smelting…

In 1875, Mike Geary purchased this lot in downtown Woodstock and opened Geary's Hotel. What existed before is unknown. The three-story brick hotel featured accommodations for travelers, large front portions over looking the valley turnpike, a…

After Pearl Harbor Americans feared that their communities could be targeted by the enemy, so a civil defense organization was created. Though officials realized the risk of attack was slight, they supported Civil Defense to help monitor military…

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 1929 Margaret Vance Hoffman opened Camp Strawderman on a plot of land located west of Woodstock, along Stoney Creek, in the Wolf’s Gap community. This land, originally owned by the Strwderman family for whom the camp is known, is known for its…