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
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…
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…
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
Mt. Jackson Methodist Church
On March 30, 1786 Methodist members of the community now called Mt. Jackson purchased a one acre plot of land near Red Banks for five shillings. Eventually they built a church called Bethel Ford Methodist Meeting House on this site.
Over time,…
New Market Battlefield
As part of his 1864 campaign, Union General Ulysses S. Grant ordered Federal forces under General Franz Sigel to march through the Shenandoah Valley and destroy the railroad and Confederate Army’s base of supplies.
This 9,000 man force began to…
Mt. Jackson Colored Cemetery
Sometime after the Civil War, Levi Rinker of Mt. Jackson donated a plot of land to that town’s African American community to serve as their cemetery. Later, an additional lot owned by Amanda Thorpe was also deeded to the cemetery.
This separate…
Pennybacker House
Around 1805 the Pennybacker family built this home in Mt. Jackson. Drawing upon their great wealth gained through the operation of several local iron furnaces, the
Pennbackers were able to construct on of the most opulent structures in town. In the…
Woodstock Methodist Church
Methodist Francis Ausbury, one of the first two Methodist Bishops in the United States, visited this area numerous times between 1790 and 1809. At the time, Methodist ministers and pastors from other denominations spent most of their time on…
Strasburg School
In 1804 Jacob Funk, Alexander Hite, Joseph Stover, Jacob Lambert, Jonas Crabil, Anthony Spangler, and George Lind conducted a lottery to build a school on this site. There efforts would be successful and the Strasburg Academy opened soon…