Historical Markers and War Memorials in Strasburg, Virginia
Woodstock is the county seat for Shenandoah County
Strasburg is in Shenandoah County
Shenandoah County(229) ► ADJACENT TO SHENANDOAH COUNTY Frederick County(232) ► Page County(105) ► Rockingham County(114) ► Warren County(45) ► Hardy County, West Virginia(44) ►
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On Copp Road (Virginia Route 757) 0.1 miles north of Mount Hebron Road, on the left when traveling west.
This property
"Snapp House"
has been placed on the
National Register
of
Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
— — Map (db m158534) HM
Near Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.1 miles west of Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling west.
The defensive earthworks in front of you are the only preserved remnants of a mile-long chain of infantry trenches, rifle pits, and artillery emplacements that were built by the Union VI Corps, 2nd Division, following the battle of Cedar Creek . . . — — Map (db m159051) HM
On Valley Pike (U.S. 11), on the right when traveling north.
The breaking of this bridge in the evening of October 19, 1864 permitted Sheridan to retake most of the material captured in the morning by Early. — — Map (db m3461) HM
On Fort Bowman Road at Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11), on the left when traveling east on Fort Bowman Road.
To the east is Fort Bowman, built ca. 1771 for the family of George and Mary (Hite) Bowman. This house exemplifies the merging of German and English architectural styles in the Shenandoah Valley. The Bowmans, with others of German and Scots-Irish . . . — — Map (db m171126) HM
On Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.4 miles north of Quarry Road, in the median.
When Gen. U.S. Grant came East to assume command of all Union forces in 1864, he ordered Gen. Franz Sigel to seize control of the Valley. As Sigel moved south along the Valley Turnpike, Confederates on May 9, 1864, burned the bridge here delaying . . . — — Map (db m636) HM
On Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.4 miles north of Quarry Road, in the median.
Just west of modern route 11 is the Daniel Stickley Farm. The ruins of the Stickley Mills are located beside the creek just below the house. During the war, the Valley Turnpike ran past the brick Stickley house and turned right onto a covered bridge . . . — — Map (db m644) HM
On East King Street (Virginia Route 55) 0.1 miles east of Acton Place, on the right when traveling east.
The railroad tracks before you follow the route of the Manassas Gap Railroad, which reached Strasburg from Washington, D.C., in 1854. The line was a vital link between the Shenandoah Valley and eastern markets. Strasburg became strategically . . . — — Map (db m2323) HM
Near Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.1 miles west of Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling west. Reported damaged.
You are standing approximately 45 feet above the Crystal Caverns Mine, a chamber that once produced calcite crystals, as well as saltpeter, the chief component, of black gunpowder. Early gunpowder works utilized a low-tech production method that . . . — — Map (db m159039) HM
Near Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.1 miles west of Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling south.
Those earthworks were built in October 1864 by the 2nd Division, VIth U.S. Corps under the supervision of its adjutant general, Capt. Hazard Stevens. The crescent shaped positions, called "lunettes" because of their resemblance to a new moon, were . . . — — Map (db m3445) HM
On Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.4 miles north of Quarry Road, in the median.
The stone house to the south is Fort Bowman, or Harmony Hall, built about 1753 for George Bowman who emigrated from Pennsylvania in 1731-1732. The house is an important example of the Pennsylvania German influence on Shenandoah Valley architecture. . . . — — Map (db m594) HM
On N. Massanutten Street (U.S. 11) at Cold Spring Road, on the right when traveling south on N. Massanutten Street.
This Frontier Fort stands in mute evidence of that early American history that has gone before us. It was built around the year 1755, and it was home of one of the first settlers to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Built at a time when the early . . . — — Map (db m660) HM
Signal Knob, the northernmost point of Three Top Mountain, overlooks Strasburg and is 2,110 ft. above sea level. During the Civil War, both sides used it as a signal station, but the Confederate signal corps occupied it almost continuously from 1862 . . . — — Map (db m246793) HM
On South Holliday Street at East Queen Street, on the left when traveling south on South Holliday Street.
South Holliday Street did not extend beyond the top of the hill until the river bridge was constructed in 1970. The North Fork of the Shenandoah River has always been a vital part of Strasburg. Today it is the town's main water supply. Early . . . — — Map (db m73936) HM
On East King Street (U.S. 11) just east of South Holliday Street, on the right when traveling east.
The Fire Department building was erected in 1951 in honor of local veterans of all wars. The first firehouse and Town Office stood here from the 1890's in a modest wooden structure known as "the sheep shed." It was the home of Massanutten Hose . . . — — Map (db m158546) HM
On West Washington Street at North Water Street, on the right when traveling east on West Washington Street.
The Town Run is to your right. One source of the stream comes from a spring several blocks north at Hupp's Homestead. Bruce Hupp had his commercial watercress beds there. Often he boarded the train at Strasburg Depot in the morning, delivered his . . . — — Map (db m3458) HM
On West Washington Street at North Fort Street, on the left when traveling west on West Washington Street.
The Strasburg Depot sat one block north on Fort Street (for many years known as Depot St.). 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 . . . — — Map (db m74070) HM
On West King Street (U.S. 11) just east of South Fort Street, on the right when traveling east.
To your right, at the corner of King and Holliday Streets, is First Bank (formerly the First National Bank), a three story Neo-classic building built in 1929. When first organized in 1907, sixteen customers deposited $79.50 in savings, and . . . — — Map (db m159497) HM
On West Queen Street west of South Fort Street, on the right when traveling west.
Queen Street was originally the main road through Strasburg, used by wagons, stagecoaches and travelers up and down the Valley. For many years the road was known as the Great Road, but before white settlers, it was a trail through the vast hunting . . . — — Map (db m190834) HM
Near Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.2 miles west of Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling west.
Hupp Cave is one of two (known) wild Caves on Hupp's Hill. Unlike show caves such as Crystal Caverns which are open to the public, wild caves, of which there are thousands in the Shenandoah Valley alone, would often serve as snake . . . — — Map (db m159487) HM
Near Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11), on the right when traveling south.
Part of a 1,000 acre estate begun by George F. Hupp in the 1750s. Hupp's Hill and buildings further south were used as a headquarters by federal generals Nathaniel Banks and James Shields during Stonewall Jackson's 1862 Valley Campaign. The site was . . . — — Map (db m50441) HM
Near Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.1 miles west of Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling west.
Hupp's Hill
Mirroring the story of many Valley settlers, during the mid-1600s a German family surnamed Hupp disembarked in Philadelphia settling first in Pennsylvania's York and Lancaster Counties before migrating south along the Great Wagon . . . — — Map (db m159033) HM
On Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11) at Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling south on Old Valley Pike.
During mid-October 1864, Union Gen. Philip Sheridan's army was camped along the north bank of Cedar Creek, confident his Valley campaign had successfully ended following smashing victories at Winchester, Fishers Hill and Toms Brook. But the . . . — — Map (db m3045) HM
Near Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.2 miles west of Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling west.
As Keyhole Cave is situated along the trench line, it is likely that wiry soldiers slithered down into this wild cave, which contains human artifacts of indeterminate age (pictured below).
Bat specialists who surveyed Keyhole Cave in . . . — — Map (db m159493) HM
On Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.1 miles west of Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling west. Reported unreadable.
Crystal Caverns
You are standing approximately 60 feet above Crystal Caverns' Hall of Masonry, so named for calcite-filled fissures that resemble mortar. The fissures resulted from compression of limestone strata that occurred when the north . . . — — Map (db m159043) HM
Near Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.2 miles west of Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling west.
Civil War troops could rapidly construct sophisticated earthworks, especially when they were targeted by vastly superior numbers of enemy forces. A well-designated earthwork could more readily absorb a projectile and was therefore more effective . . . — — Map (db m159489) HM
On West King Street (U.S. 11) just east of South Fort Street, on the right when traveling east.
In this house, George G. Crawford, M.D. (1876-1949) practiced medicine, and with his wife, Anne Preston (1880-1966) reared their family. This house is given to the people of Strasburg in their memory and in memory of Ellen C. Hatmaker . . . — — Map (db m159498) HM
On West Washington Street at North Fort Street, on the right when traveling west on West Washington Street.
Historic valley congregation, strasburg's oldest, organized by German settlers (c.1747) who first worshiped in log building just west of this site. Parish records date from 1769. Strasburg's first school conducted by the congregation and its . . . — — Map (db m3468) HM
Author of History of The Valley of Virginia
1st Edition Printed in Winchester 1833
Born Frederick County now Clarke County
He is buried here in the Bowman Graveyard
Harmony Hall — — Map (db m36723) HM
On Strasburg Road / Front Royal Road (State Highway 55), on the right when traveling west.
Shenandoah County. Area 510 Square Miles. Formed in 1772 from Frederick, and first named Dunmore for Lord Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, 1771-1775. In 1778 the county was renamed for the Shenandoah River.
Warren County. . . . — — Map (db m4297) HM
On South Holiday Street at Ram Drive (Virginia Route 9746), on the left when traveling south on South Holiday Street. Reported damaged.
Signal Knob, the northernmost point of Three Top Mountain, overlooks Strasburg and is 2110 ft. above sea level. During the Civil War, both sides used it as a signal station, but the Confederate signal corps occupied it almost continuously from 1862 . . . — — Map (db m15176) HM
Signal Knob, the northernmost high point of Massanutten Mountain, sometimes called Three Top, looms above your location along the twisting North Fork of the Shenandoah River. From 1862 to 1864, Confederate signalmen occupied the peak, keeping watch . . . — — Map (db m246774) HM WM
Near Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.1 miles west of Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling west.
Massanutten Mountain
Directly ahead of you is Massanutten Mountain. Its highest point on the northern tip (Signal Knob) served as a strategic observation post and signal station for both sides during the Civil War. A war dispatch from . . . — — Map (db m159050) HM
On West Queen Street just west of South Fort Street, on the right when traveling west.
The back wing of this log house was built in 1757 by Johann Sonner. Shenandoah County's first census lists three souls and a dwelling here. His son John, who was "Judge of the High Court of Appeals", built a two-story log house beside it in 1820 . . . — — Map (db m159499) HM
On East Washington Street at North Holiday Street, on the right when traveling east on East Washington Street.
In the spring of 1862, U.S. Army Capt. Edward Hunt, an engineer, constructed a fortification on the hill where the Strasburg water tower now stands. Hunt selected the hill "because it had an effective command over the roads, the railroad, and the . . . — — Map (db m9546) HM
Near Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.1 miles west of Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling west.
1862
The town of Strasburg is directly ahead, at the bottom of the southern (reverse) slope of Hupp's Hill. The image to the right is a wartime view from 1862. Today's prominent water tower sits atop Fort Hill, the site of Banks' . . . — — Map (db m211938) HM
This property has been
placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
Strasburg Stone &
Earthenware Mfg. Co
has been registered as a
Virginia
Historic . . . — — Map (db m158550) HM
On Sunset Street, 0.1 miles west of Capon Street, on the right when traveling west.
The Queen Street School, one of the first schools in Shenandoah County for African Americans, had opened in Strasburg by 1875. After a fire in 1929, a new school known as Sunset Hill was built here ca. 1930 to serve grades 1-7. Because the county . . . — — Map (db m171234) HM
Near East King Street east of Acton Place, on the right when traveling west.
This image, entitled Heavy Traffic on the Valley Pike, is the third in a series of paintings by renowned historical artist Mort Künsler, depicting the arrival in Strasburg of disassembled locomotives seized by Confederate forces under Col. . . . — — Map (db m73820) HM
On East King Street (Virginia Route 44), on the left when traveling west.
Jackson captured engines from Martinsburg, W.VA. and had them pulled by horse teams across the roads to Strasburg, near here, they were set on rails and sent south for the Confederate cause. — — Map (db m15542) HM
Near Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.1 miles west of Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling north.
The Shenandoah Valley
Welcome to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, renowned in story and song. The valley has been home to American Indians and early settlers from Germany, Ireland, and Scotland who followed the Indians' Warrior Path and turned . . . — — Map (db m159054) HM
On East King Street (U.S. 11) east of South Holliday Street, on the right when traveling east.
This fertile land along the Shenandoah River, in the shadow of the Massanutten Mountain, was settled in the 1730s by courageous Germanic people in search of liberty and prosperity. Known variously in early days as Staufferstadt, Stover Town and . . . — — Map (db m73843) HM
Near Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.1 miles west of Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling west.
On 13 October 1864, Confederate probing actions triggered a "short but sharp" engagement with Federal troops headquartered at Cedar Creek, two miles north of this position. Six days later, Jubal Early re-engaged enemy forces, directing a . . . — — Map (db m159052) HM
On Old Valley Pike (U.S. 11) 0.1 miles west of Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling west.
Hupp's Hill was a strategically significant site occupied at different times by Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War. Union troops under Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan constructed extensive trenches here after defeated Lt. Gen. Jubal A. . . . — — Map (db m159032) HM
Near Old Valley Pike, 0.2 miles west of Signal Knob Drive, on the right when traveling west.
Although the winter camp at Hupp's Hill was less extensive than the one pictured above, the layout was fairly typical. Two brigades of the Federal VI Corps, 2nd Division, began erecting small log huts, stables, quartermaster stores, divisional . . . — — Map (db m159491) HM