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
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…
Headquaters School
In 1891 the Shenandoah County School Board constructed this school near the intersection of what is now Headquaters and Cave Ridge Roads. It was named Headquaters School after the local community…
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…
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
J.P. Ryman house and Store
Around 1900, this two story, frame house was constructed in Conicville Virginia. Attached to the house is a single story structure that once served as the Conicville store.
Oral history indicates the house may be one of the oldest in Conicville.…
George's Chicken
In 1944 the Holler family of Edinburg Virginia founded a small poultry processing plant along Stoney Creek west of Edinburg.
Over time this operation grew to become Blue Ridge Poultry and Egg Company, a regional poultry processor. In 1971 Rocco…
Shenstone
This house was constructed around 1825. Before this, a log cabin that was home to Riley Moore, an original European resident of the area, stood at the site. The house is a Federal Style structure with interior chimneys. Locally it is known as…
Orkney Springs Resort
From it’s founding in the mid-1770s, the Orkney Springs community has been welcoming visitors. Surrounding it was a plethora of springs that reportedly had healing powers. People from around the country flocked to the area to find a cure to their…
Mt. Jackson National Bank (Original Location)
In 1884 Dr. J.I. Triplett opened the Mt. Jackson National Bank in this building. It was the first national bank in Shenandoah County and the only one for over a decade.
From 1863 until 1935 the Treasury Department allowed certain banks to be…
Dorothy's Inn
Sometime during the first decades of the 20th century, this rubble-style building was constructed overlooking the Shenandoah River just south of what is now called the “Narrow Passage.”
The early history of this site is not well known. Some…