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
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…
Stroop's Snake and Alligator Farm
In 1927 Snoop’s Snake Farm opened two miles south of Edinburg in the small community of Bowman’s Crossing. Though we know little about the site, early advertisements indicated the site featured four…
Casey Jones/Woodstock Brew House
Starting in the 1920s, clothing and textile manufacturing became prominent industries in the Shenandoah Valley. One group that operated in the area was the Casey Jones Work-Clothes Company. They…
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
Riverview Cemetery
As early as 1906, Woodstock’s African American community was using this land as a burial site. Prior to this, most African Americans had been buried in the town’s slave cemeteries where many of their ancestors rested.
This new site, named…
Woodstock "Colored School," 1867-1937
Between 1867 and 1937 a school for Woodstock’s African American population was held on this property.
In 1865 the Freedman’s Bureau, a Federal Agency, opened the “Lincoln School” in Woodstock for African American Students. The location of that…
Lloyd's Department Store
This undated postcard shows Lloyd’s Department Store on King Street in Strasburg Virginia. The store was located beside what was the Massanutten National Bank, until recently the Strasburg Chamber of Commerce, near the intersection with Holliday…
Shenvalee
The Shenvalee began in 1926 when Roland F. Hill came to New Market and purchased what was then called the “Dr. Strayer Farm.” Hill would use the land to create a resort hotel and golf course. Local newspaper publisher John G. Miller would eventually…
Crabill's Tavern
Sometime around 1825, David Crabill built this tavern south of present-day Maurertown, Virginia, to serve travelers on what would become the Valley Turnpike. Crabill would have provided them food, a hot bed, and spirits of their choosing.
The…
Southern Railway Depot
Trains first arrived at Mt. Jackson in 1859 when the Manassas Gap Railroad completed construction of a new line that terminated in the town. Though the railroad intended to extend the route to Harrisonburg, money had run short. Anyone wishing to…