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
New Market Observation Tower
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…
Headquaters School
In 1891 the Shenandoah County School Board constructed this school near the intersection of what is now Headquaters and Cave Ridge Roads. It was named Headquaters School after the local community…
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…
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
JR Miller Tailor Shop
Sometime in the late 19th century Joseph Russell Miller opened a tailor shop on Main Street in Woodstock. A native of Hardy County West Virginia, Miller had moved to Woodstock as a child and was trained as a tailor in a Frederick County shop.…
Columbia Furnace School
In the spring 1934 a serious fire destroyed a large portion of the Columbia Furnace School which dated to 1911. The Shenandoah County School Board made the decision to replace the damaged structure with an entirely new building.
This school house…
Powhatan Lime Company
The Powhatan Lime Company of Strasburg Virginia dates to 1902. It was founded to quarry some of the area’s plentiful New Market limestone and to convert it into lime for use in construction agriculture, and numerous other industries.
Powhatan…
Elon Henkel House
Situated on the southwest corner of Congress Street and Lee Street, the Elon Henkel House, or Henkel Press Building is a familiar landmark in New Market.
While the house is most notably known for being owned by Elon Henkel, his grandfather,…
Mt. Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
In January 1896 a group of dissatisfied Lutherans finally made the decision to break away from St. Davids Lutheran Church and start their own congregation. That year they completed this structure and named it Mt. Zion Evangelical Lutheran…
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 types of poisonous snakes and several alligators.…