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…

This brick building was built by Solomon Henkel in 1802. It served as his home and place for him to practice his trade as a physician and druggist. A small brick structure behind the home, also built in 1802, was used by Solomon to prepare his…

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…

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…

The first school in the St. Luke community dates to before 1841. That year the school building, and a parcel of land, was deeded to a group of school trustees who agreed to use the building and land as a Union Church and school. This original…

Dry Run Christian Church was born around 1841, when a small congregation began meeting at the Union Church at Dry Run in Fort Valley. In 1879 this congregation joined the American Christian Church which followed the tenants that Christ was the head…