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…
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…
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…
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
Cedarwood Cemetery
The first burial at Cedarwood Cemetery was recorded in 1870 but it was not until July 4, 1876 that the site was dedicated. It was the third cemetery to serve the town of Edinburg.
At the dedication ceremony, over 5000 people gathered to hear US…
Old Frontier Tavern and Distillery
This structure was built around 1755 and was the home of the Hupp family who were some of the earliest European immigrants into the Shenandoah Valley. It was built to provide protection from possible Native American incursions and other hostile…
Spangler Mill/Old Mill Tavern
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…
Lloyd's Department Store
This undated postcard shows Lloyd’s Department Store on King Street in Strasburg Virginia. The store was located beside what was the Massanutten National Bank, until recently the Strasburg Chamber of Commerce, near the intersection with Holliday…
Columbia Furnace
Columbia Furnace was most likely established during the first decade of the 19th century. The community sprang up after George Mayberry & Company, working with the Pennybackers, located an iron deposit nearby and began a mining and smelting…
Emmanuel Lutheran Church
The congregation that became Emmanuel Lutheran Church began in 1790, when Reverend Paul Henkel founded the Davidson Lutheran Church in New Market. In 1820 Samuel S. Schmucker, a Yale Graduate became the church’s new minister.
Soon afterwards the…