A tour of historic sites within the Town of Woodstock. Woodstock is the fourth oldest town in Virginia. Steeped in history, the town was home to the famed Revolutionary Peter Muhlenberg, who came in 1772 to serve as a Lutheran pastor. He is most…

A tour of historic sites in the Town of Edinburg. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and situated in central Shenandoah County, Edinburg, is a small town in the Shenandoah Valley. Its streets are filled with historic sites,…

A tour of historic sites in the town of Mt. Jackson. The Town of Mt. Jackson began with an Act of Assembly on January 27, 1826. The state made the decision, over the objection of some locals, to name the village, formerly known as Mt. Pleasant,…

A tour of historic sites in the town of New Market. The first Europeans arrived in New Market in 1727. They flocked to the area due to an abundance of fertile land, wild game, and minerals. Many of these individuals were Germans of the Mennonite…

A tour of historic sites in the town of Strasburg. On August 21, 1734 William Gooch, Virginia's Governor, granted land speculator Henry Willis 2,030 acres of wilderness with the requirement that he find settlers to live on it. A year…

The history of Toms Brook Virginia dates to the 18th century when the Crabill family bought a large plot of land from Lord Fairfax. This property contains what is now Toms Brook and the surrounding area. This family would establish a stage coach…

The first African Americans were brought to Shenandoah County as slaves during the 18th century. The exact date of their arrival is unknown, but we do know that by 1783 there were 362 slaves in the county. That number would grow to 2,423 in 1820 when…

Shenandoah County residents have always been interested in their history. As early as the 1820s, published works began to emerge that interpreted the Valley’s past. Various festivals, displays, pageants, and lectures added to these efforts as the…

Fort Valley is a 23 mile long mountain valley located in Shenandoah County Virginia. Called by a “valley within a valley” and a “gem within a gem” the valley lies between the arms of the Massanutten Mountain Range. It is closed on the south end and…

As Europeans began to colonize the area that is today Shenandoah County, they brought their Christian faith with them. Though these early settlers often did not have dedicated church buildings, traveling ministers and a personal desire to maintain…

Alcohol has been a part of Shenandoah County's history since the arrival of Europeans in the late 18th century. During these years transporting raw agricultural products to market was incredibly difficult, risky, and expensive. However,…

From 1917-1918 and again from 1941-1945 the United States was involved in two catastrophic World Wars. These conflicts touched the lives of almost everyone in the nation at that time. Shenandoah County shared in the burden of those two conflicts.…