In 1820 14 enslaved African Americans called this place home. The Federal Census from that year noted 9 of them were male and 5 were female. Four of these were owned by Philip S. Spengler Jr. Most likely his slaves were a mother and her three…

Throughout the county’s history communities have been conducting parades and festivals. One type of this event was the ever popular May Day. Traditionally held on May 1st, this festival dates to early European efforts to celebrate the start of…

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…

In 1815 Augustine Hollar deed land for the Union Forge Church and cemetery near Edinburg Virginia. This congregation, associated with the Methodist Denomination, drew most of its membership from the workers at the nearby iron furnaces. They regularly…

This mill was built sometime around 1797 by the Spangler family, who were some of the first Europeans to immigrate to the Strasburg area. It was designed with a wooden end because that material could absorb the vibrations associated with the mill…

Trains first arrived at Mt. Jackson in 1859 when the Manassas Gap Railroad completed construction of a new line that terminated in the town. Though the railroad intended to extend the route to Harrisonburg, money had run short. Anyone wishing to…