Though technically a part of the St. Luke Lutheran Church, this cemetery has served local community members of all denominations since it was founded in 1889. Local families, including the Wismans, Cooks, Gochenours, Shrums, and Clarks are buried…

In the spring 1934 a serious fire destroyed a large portion of the Columbia Furnace School which dated to 1911. The Shenandoah County School Board made the decision to replace the damaged structure with an entirely new building. This school house…

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…

Around 1803, the Pennybacker family constructed Columbia Furnace along Stoney Creek west of Edinburg. Additional lands were added in 1808 and the company was sold to John Arthur & Co. It was later owned by the Newman family, who operated it during…

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…

During the colonial period, this area was part of the area’s 230 acre Glebe Farm. It was owned by Beckford Parish, the local organization of the established Anglican Church. The property was used to support church operations and their minister, one…

As part of his 1864 campaign, Union General Ulysses S. Grant ordered Federal forces under General Franz Sigel to march through the Shenandoah Valley and destroy the railroad and Confederate Army’s base of supplies. This 9,000 man force began to…

In 1874 Edinburg’s citizens began a lottery to fund the construction of a school in town. These efforts proved to be successful, and in 1876 what became known as the Edinburg Graded and High School, or the Cedar Hill Academy, was opened. The…

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…

In 1830, Fort Valley resident Daniel Munch donated two acres of land to house a school and church. He required that the church be available for all Protestant denominations. The one room church building that was constructed there was made of locally…