In the late 1700s, Shenandoah County residents who were members of the Lutheran and Reformed denominations banded together to form Frieden’s Union Church west of Toms Brook. This served the needs of Toms Brook’s residents until the mid-1800s when…

In 1760, residents of this area who wanted to worship walked, or rode on horseback, to a small building at Rude’s Hill south of Mt. Jackson. This Union Church, called Rude’s Hill Church, accommodated congregations of various denominations. Among…

The original immigrants to this area arrived in the mid-18th century. Early immigrants to the area included the Neff and Baughman families. Originally the community was called Georgetown and land speculators may have considered founding an…

Mt. Zion Lutheran Church, lovingly called the “beautiful church on the hilltop,” dates to 1829 when Abraham Smutz and his family sold a parcel of land to a group of church trustees. This land contained a house that the deed required to be used as a…

During the early part of the 19th century traveling ministers of the Church of Christ visited towns in Shenandoah County. As early as 1808 records indicate residents of Strasburg were meeting to hear these individuals. In 1820 enough members of the…

Just before the Civil War, a group of Mt. Jackson residents built this structure to house a local hotel. While the war interfered with their plans at first, an 1871 map does indicate that the building housed a hotel and post office. At that time, it…