Historic Strasburg

Historic Strasburg. Stop 6. , The Strasburg Community Library was organized by the Strasburg Business Women's Club in 1959. The Library occupied several buildings on King Street, moving to its current location when the family of Elien Crawford Hatmaker, a Club member, deeded her former home to be the permanent location of the Library in 1983. The original log portion of the house dates to 1778. Hatmaker's grandfather, Dr. James Crawford, and her father, Dr. George Crawford, had their practice here. The two front doors, one for the doctor's office and one for the home, remain. An addition was added to the back of the library in 2003 to accommodate a larger collection and other services. The Library is part of the Shenandoah County Library System., First Bank, formerly the First National Bank, stands at the corner of King and Holliday Streets. When the bank was first organized in 1907, sixteen customers deposited $79.50 in savings and $1,093 in commercial accounts. The original three-story Neo-classic building was built in 1929. The bank has more than tripled in size by purchases of the adjoining businesses along the street to the west. First Bank now has assets in excess of a billion dollars and branches throughout the area., The Colonial-style building of the Strasburg Post Office in the middle of the block to your right was built in 1936. The lobby contains a beautiful mural of apple harvesting in the Shenandoah Valley. The painting by artist Sarah Blakeslee was commissioned by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s. The program sought to have artwork depicting local scenes in Post Offices across the nation., Across the street at 192 W. King Street was the home of Samuel H. Sonner, another of Strasburg's noted pottery makers. Union General Philip Sheridan stayed there for a while after "The Burning" of the Valley in 1864. The property later became the Massanutten Hotel. At the edge of town as you enter on U.S. 11 you will see the Old Mill, one of the few mills standing after the Civil War., The Valley Pike or Valley Turnpike is the traditional name given to U.S. Route 11. The road is called King Street as it passes through Strasburg. Long before the arrival of colonists, Native Americans used this route to travel north and south from Canada to Georgia. During Colonial times the road became known as the Great Wagon Road. In 1834 the Valley Turnpike Company was incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly. By the Civil War the road was macadamized and became an important transportation link for Stonewall Jackson's 1862 Valley Campaign and the Valley Campaign of 1864., (Caption):, King Street looking east, circa 1950, To reach Stop 7 go left on King Street a short distance to the corner of Fort Street, turn left on Fort Street and continue one block. Go right on Queen Street to the end of the block. , 292 West Queen Street