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
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…
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
Lantz House
Between 1860 and 1870, the owner of Lantz Mill, Jacob Lantz, built this house on his family’s farm. The original building was a two story, Greek-Revival style structure. The Lantz family continued to live in the house for many decades.
Jacob’s…
Sunset Hill School
The first school for Strasburg’s African American population was called the Queen Street School and was located at the end of West Queen Street.
That building housed grades 1-7 until 1929 when it burned. A new school, called Sunset Hill Colored…
Strasburg Methodist Church
In 1806 the Bishop Asbury, a noted Methodist circuit rider, preached his first sermon in Strasburg. He and other traveling ministers would visit the town numerous times over the next several decades until the number of Methodist congregants was large…
Carroll Robinson Building
This structure was constructed in the 1920s to house Mt. Jackson’s growing number of commercial establishments. Originally it was known as the Carroll Building. It is a two story, wood frame establishment, with business space on the first floor and…
St. James Lutheran Church
St. James Lutheran Church in Zepp dates to around 1822 when W.G. Keil, a ministerial student, began conducting services in local homes. By September of 1822 he had established a church with 30 confirmed members.
The first church building was…
Toms Brook Post Office
In 1920 Toms Brook residents gathered together to form the Bank of Toms Brook. Initially the institution had over $165,000 worth of loans, deposits, and securities.
The state of Virginia notes that in 1922, S.B. Miley was the President and J.L.…