Historic Strasburg

Historic Strasburg. Stop 5. , Strasburg's first church, the Lutheran Church, was a log structure built across the street in the late 1760s. By 1772 the number of Lutherans was strong enough to call their first minister, John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, who later, at the request of George Washington, raised and commanded the 8th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. For many years this structure was the town's only chapel, so other congregations held services there. In the early years local laymen, like Simon Hart, often ministered to the Lutheran congregation. County records show he performed 368 marriages between 1781 and 1796. He was also the schoolmaster for the first school in Strasburg. For about 25 years, beginning in the early 1800s, the church employed two ministers at a time; one gave the sermon in German and the other in English., The log church was replaced by a brick structure in 1844 and dedicated as St. Paul Lutheran Church. The new building suffered the ravages of the Civil War. The interior was gutted by Union troops and used as a hospital, arsenal, and stable. Only the shell remained. The damage was so extensive that the Virginia Lutheran Synod made annual donations to the Strasburg church for two years after the war, the only church to receive such aid. It was repaired and rededicated in 1867., The church cemetery contains graves of many of Strasburg's prominent families. Adam Keister, Sr., (1782-1847) merchant, potter, and elder of the church is buried there, as is Solomon Bell (1817-1882), another noted pottery maker. And sadly there are many graves of young children who died before the age of modern medicine. The church Annex, to your immediate left, was Adam Keister, Jr.'s, and Samuel Sonner's pottery during the late 19th century., The Strasburg Depot sat one block north on Fort Street, which for many years was known as Depot Street. Notice where the road veers left then right again and up the hill. A modest passenger station was located there. Longtime residents may remember the 7:35 a.m. train making the daily mail delivery., The large building at 189 Fort Street, to your left, was the Chalybeate Springs Hotel, which catered to travelers from the 1890s through the 1930s, when it was converted to apartments. Guests came by rail to the depot. Some were "drummers" (traveling salesmen) and others came to partake of the spring behind the hotel, believing the iron water to be healthful., From the town's rail stations many elite vacationers transferred to horse-drawn coaches for the trip to the Capon Springs Hotel in West Virginia. Before air-conditioning, people flocked to the cooler mountains during the hot summer months., (Caption):, Strasburg passenger railway station on Fort Street, circa 1910, To reach Stop 6 go left to Fort Street, turn left and continue to King Street. Cross the street and go left to the sidewalk bump-out in front of the Strasburg Library. , 195 West King Street