Shenandoah River

Shenandoah River. . The power of the Shenandoah River once made Virginius Island valuable real estate. Armory Superintendent James Stubblefield purchased the island in 1824 for $15,000. Two months later he almost doubled his investment by selling the island as four tracts while promoting its industrial potential. By the mid-1850s, businessman Abraham Herr had paid almost $47,000 for this 13-acre island., The river signified both friend and enemy to the industrialists and residents here. As long as it stayed within its banks, the factories and mills harnessed its power to run machinery. When the Shenandoah ranged out of control, however, its once friendly power destroyed everything in its path., The Shenandoah and its branches flow 150 miles through the fertile Shenandoah Valley, once described as "the breadbasket of the Confederacy." It empties into the Potomac River just downstream at Harpers Ferry.