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
Shenandoah County Fair
In 1886 a group of local businessmen, farmers, and community leaders banded together to form the Shenandoah County Agricultural Society. This organization was designed to promote the area’s…
Shenandoah County Memorial Hospital
On September 16, 1951 the Shenandoah County Memorial Hospital was dedicated in Woodstock Virginia. This was the result of a massive fundraising campaign that lasted just over five years.
Prior to…
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…
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
Carriage Factory
Located next to the Deary Tavern, this two-story building was built in 1855. It is constructed with wooden weatherboarding on the outside, a heavy embossed metal on the inside, and a layer of brick in between. The building was first owned by Henry…
Fort Valley Manganese Mines
When Europe went to war in August of 1914 the residents of Fort Valley Virginia could have scarcely realized how important their small community would become to the US economy.
During the late 1800s a manganese mine had operated in Fort Valley to…
Strasburg Reservoir
In 1923 the Town of Strasburg completed a new reservoir to supply the town with drinking water. The reservoir contained approximately 25 million gallons of water and was located in what is called “Little Fort Valley” atop the Massanutten Mountain…
Mt. Zion Methodist Church
In 1868 the African American residents of Strasburg Virginia banded together to found Mt. Zion Methodist Church after being inspired by a series of travelling Methodist Missionaries that visited the town and organized religious meeting. That same…
St. Luke Lutheran Church
Lutheran Ministers began preaching in St. Luke in 1878 when locals formed a congregation separate from the Woodstock Lutheran Church. Their first minister, P. Miller, had a congregation of 42 who met in the Union Church and the local school.
One…
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…