| Virginia (Rockingham County), Dayton — Daniel Bowman Mill at Silver Lake — Shenandoah Valley Mills |
| | During the Civil War, the Daniel Bowman Mill occupied this site, grinding wheat brought here by Rockingham County farmers. The county was part of the prosperous agricultural region known as the “breadbasket of the Confederacy.” It was no accident that the reaper was perfected in the Shenandoah Valley or that the largest flourmills in the world were constructed in Richmond to process Valley wheat harvests. The Shenandoah Valley’s agricultural success brought devastation to the . . . — Map (db m46125) HM |
| Virginia (Rockingham County), Dayton — Dayton — Dark Days in the Burnt District |
| | In the fall of 1864, attacks by Confederate raiders and bushwhackers angered Federal officers in the Shenandoah Valley. On September 22, Union soldiers captured a hapless man named Davy Getz near Woodstock who was wearing civilian clothes and carrying a squirrel rifle. When Union Gen. George A. Custer ordered his execution as a bushwhacker, town elders pleaded with Custer for leniency, claiming that Getz had only the mind of a six-year-old. Custer ignored their pleas, and on October 1 or 2, . . . — Map (db m16440) HM |
| Virginia (Rockingham County), Dayton — Death of Lt. Meigs — Deadly Encounter — 1864 Valley Campaigns |
| | Here on the old Swift Run Gap Road on the evening of October 3, 1864, Union Lt. John Rodgers Meigs was killed in a fight with three Confederate scouts guided by local resident Pvt. Benjamin F. “Frank” Shaver, 1st Virginia Cavalry. Meigs, of Gen. Philip H. Sheridan’s staff, and two orderlies encountered the Confederates, who had entered Union lines that morning to observe the dispositions of Sheridan’s army camped around Harrisonburg. A firefight ensued and Meigs wounded a scout, but . . . — Map (db m15121) HM |
| Virginia (Rockingham County), Dayton — Death of Lt. Meigs — The Heavy Hand of War — 1864 Valley Campaigns |
| | The death of Union Lt. John R. Meigs, near the granite marker on the hill in front of you, unleashed a firestorm of retaliation. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, erroneously told that civilian “bushwhackers” had killed Meigs, reported to Gen. U.S. Grant four days later that “for this atrocious act all the houses within an area of five miles were burned.” The affected area initially was to include “Tunkerville, Bridgewater and Dayton.” On October 4-5, the 5th New . . . — Map (db m15123) HM |
| Virginia (Rockingham County), Dayton — D 7 — First Church in Rockingham County |
| | The first church in Rockingham County was built on this site in 1747 on land owned by Captain Daniel Harrison of the colonial militia. Serving as a "Chapel of Ease" for Augusta Parish, the first building is believed to have been built of logs. The chapel was replaced by a larger frame building some 20 years later. Following the Revolutionary War, the church was used by a Methodist congregation; it was sold and functioned as a barn until it was torn down about 1900. — Map (db m32106) HM |
| Virginia (Rockingham County), Dayton — D1 — Fort Harrison |
| | Daniel Harrison settled about 1745 at the headwaters of Cook’s Creek where it is believed he built the stone portion of the present house. During the decades 1750-1770, when this area was the frontier of the colony, the house served the settlers as a refuge from Indian attacks. Subsequent owners added the brick portion and enlarged the windows and doors. The Harrison family had large land holdings in present Augusta and Rockingham counties. — Map (db m16441) HM |
| Virginia (Rockingham County), Dayton — Lt. Col. Thomas F. Wildes |
| | In memory of Lt. Col. Thomas F. Wildes, 116th Ohio Regiment, who, when ordered by Gen. Sheridan to burn the town of Dayton, Va. in retaliation for the death of a Union officer, refused to obey that order, risking court-martial and disgrace. His refusal and plea to Gen. Sheridan resulted in a countermand to the order, and saved this town from total destruction. — Map (db m11701) HM |
| Virginia (Rockingham County), Dayton — Shenandoah College and Shenandoah Conservatory of Music — 1875–1960 — Dayton, Virginia |
| | This plaque designates the former location of Shenandoah College and Shenandoah Conservatory of Music and is dedicated in honor of the community that served the many students, faculty, and staff who passed through its halls. The new campus and institution, called Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music, is now located in Winchester, Virginia, and is committed to the continuation of the traditions of the former Dayton institutions. — Map (db m15761) HM |
| Virginia (Rockingham County), Dayton — Site Where Lt. John Rodgers Meigs Was Killed |
| | This is the approximate site where Union Lt. John Rodgers Meigs was killed in a fight with three Confederate scouts on October 3, 1864. In retaliation, General Philip H. Sheridan ordered that buildings over a large area, including the town of Dayton, be burned to the ground. The order to burn the town was later rescinded, but 30 other dwellings were destroyed in what became known as the "burnt district." — Map (db m15140) HM |
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