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
Strasburg Passenger Depot
In 1878 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad completed this passenger depot in Strasburg Virginia. It replaced an earlier station constructed by the Manassas Gap Railroad in 1854 near the current site of…
Lantz Mills Community
In 1747, Hans George Lantz left Germany and eventually settled on 470 acres along Stoney Creek in Shenandoah County. The area he arrived in had been occupied by Native Americans for several centuries.…
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…
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
Grace United Church of Christ
Grace United Church of Christ dates its history to the foundation to around 1760 when a church was built at Rudes’ Hill. This building housed a Lutheran and Reformed Congregation.
These groups moved to the area of Middle Road in 1783 when they…
Edinburg 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 supported Civil Defense to help monitor military…
St. Matthews Lutheran Church
An old history of St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church reports that the Lutheran Church arrived in that area of Shenandoah County around 1806. Their efforts centered on the construction of a school near Saumsville, named Borden’s, which could be used as a…
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church
As early as 1844 a Lutheran congregation existed in Mt. Jackson Virginia. Though they did not have their own building, they had regular meetings in the town’s Union Church.
However the Lutherans outgrew the Union Church and decided to build their…
Shenandoah County Alms House
During the colonial period, this area was part of the area’s 230 acre Glebe Farm. It was owned by Beckford Parish, the local organization of the established Anglican Church. The property was used to support church operations and their minister, one…
Laonard Walters Ordinary and Liquor Store/Central Hotel
Built in 1836, the Central Hotel was designed to serve individuals travelling on the Valley Turnpike. Providing spirits would have been part of its mission from the beginning.
Who the early operators of the site were is unknown, but in the 1880s…