Shenandoah Stories

Join 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

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This structure was built around 1900. It is a two story, wood frame, L. Shape building. Originally it was a carpenter shop. Later it was converted into a residence and owned by the Fadley family for many years.

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 types of poisonous snakes and several alligators.…

Mt. Zion Lutheran Church was born in the nearby Kipps School House on August 21, 1853. That day the traveling Lutheran minister Socrates Henkel, began preaching in the area. Six months later the members of the community organized a congregation and…

On June 15, 1833 seventeen members of the community banded together to form the Zion Christian Church. Originally meetings were held at the Zion Schoolhouse once a month. New members were allowed to join, but only after a unanimous vote. This early…

In June 1880 Levi Gochenour deeded a one-acre lot to Shenandoah County Public Schools for the purpose of building a schoolhouse for the families of the surrounding community. It is believed he provided this particular lot, located a half a mile from…

When Europe went to war in August of 1914 the residents of Fort Valley Virginia could have scarcely realized how important their small community would become to the US economy. During the late 1800s a manganese mine had operated in Fort Valley to…