On Mill Place Parkway (County Route 1943) south of Laurel Hill Road (County Route 612).
Newlyweds Anna Mary Robertson Moses (later
knows as Grandma Moses) and her husband
Thomas arrived in Augusta County from New
York in 1887. Renting several farms before purchasing Mt. Airy, a large brick Federal style
house built in 1880. The . . . — — Map (db m77511) HM
On South Augusta Street (U.S. 11) at East Johnson Street (U.S. 250) on South Augusta Street.
In Honor Of The Men And Women Of Staunton And Augusta County Who Served Their Country In The World War 1914-1918
The Unreturning Brave… They Give New Splendor to The Dead
Oscar Taylor Almarode
Gordon Argenbright
Thomas Fulton Armstrong . . . — — Map (db m127275) HM
On East Johnson Street (U.S. 250) at South Augusta Street (Business U.S. 11), on the right when traveling east on East Johnson Street.
Established November 1, 1738 by an act of the General Assembly, Augusta County extended from the Blue Ridge Mountains on the east to the Mississippi River on the west and from the southern boundary of the Colony north to “the utmost limits . . . — — Map (db m11757) HM
On Warm Springs Pike (Virginia Route 42) 0.8 miles north of Mussoq Creek Road ( Route 747), on the right when traveling north. Reported missing.
Rockingham County. Area 876 Square Miles. Formed in 1778 from Augusta, and named for the Marquis of Rockingham, British statesman. John Sevier, of Tennessee, was born in this county. In it took place the battles of Cross Keys . . . — — Map (db m88642) HM
On Wildwood Road at Horner Lane, on the right when traveling east on Wildwood Road.
At Salem is a liberal arts institution for men and women. Founded in Augusta County in 1842 as Virginia Institute, it was chartered in 1845 as Virginia Collegiate Institute; moved to Salem in 1847; chartered as Roanoke College in 1853, and was in . . . — — Map (db m14809) HM
On Mansfield Drive (Bypass U.S. 250) at North Main Street (U.S. 250), on the right when traveling north on Mansfield Drive.
Churchville cavalry flag made by women of Augusta County, Virginia, and presented to the 14th Virginia Cavalry before they left for Phillipi, captured by Union troops on June 3, 1861. Original flag is at Battle Abbey in Richmond, Virginia. — — Map (db m211895) HM
On 2nd Street Extension at Grant Avenue, on the right when traveling west on 2nd Street Extension.
Jacob Rabe came from Maryland in 1770 to Western Pennsylvania while this area was claimed by Virginia. In 1774 he received a Virginia Certificate for 412 acres. Boundary dispute between Virginia and Pennsylvania was settled in 1781, with the . . . — — Map (db m69762) HM
On Afton Depot Lane 0.2 miles west of Afton Mountain Road ( Route 6), on the left when traveling west.
The Blue Ridge Tunnel, which opened to railroad traffic in 1858, lies beneath Rockfish Gap, where Interstate 64, U.S. Route 250, Skyline Drive, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Appalachian Trail converge. The Blue Ridge Railroad Company, overseen by . . . — — Map (db m234008) HM
Near Frontier Drive (Virginia Route 644) 0.5 miles south of Red Oaks Drive, on the right when traveling north.
"The Wilderness Road" sums up the iconic meaning of the lives of Daniel Boone and the thousands of settlers who poured after him through the great gap into Kentucky. In its various forms as frontier trail, wagon road, stage route, and . . . — — Map (db m288940) HM
On East Main Street (U.S. 11) at Exit 73 (Interstate 81), on the right when traveling west on East Main Street.
Walter Crockett was born in the 1730s. By 1760, he had joined the Augusta County militia. Rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel, he subsequently served in the militias of Botentourt, Fincastle, and then Montgomery Counties, beginning in 1769. He . . . — — Map (db m44893) HM
On Rawley Pike (U.S. 33), on the right when traveling east.
Rockingham County. During its October 1777 session, the Virginia General Assembly carved Rockingham County out of a large portion of Augusta County. The first court was held on 27 April 1778. Rockingham County was named for Charles Watson . . . — — Map (db m34459) HM
On West Main Street (U.S. 60) at 3rd Street, on the right when traveling south on West Main Street.
After the Civil War, George W. Imboden lived here with his wife, Mary Tyree, the daughter of William Tyree of Tyree Tavern. When the war began, Imboden enlisted in the Staunton Artillery in Augusta County, Virginia, where he then resided. He . . . — — Map (db m34371) HM
On Main Street 0 miles 1st Street, on the right when traveling south.
[Front Plaque, Facing East.]
This monument was erected in the year 1909 in commemoration of the Battle of Point Pleasant, fought at the mouth of the Great Kanawha River, now in West Virginia, October 10, 1774. Between twelve hundred and . . . — — Map (db m22553) HM
Near Middlebrook Avenue (Virginia Route 252) west of South Augusta Street, on the left when traveling south.
(left panel)
Staunton Historic Districts
1 Beverley Historic District
2 Newtown Historic District
3 Wharf Area Historic District
4 Gospel Hill Historic District
5 Stuart Addition Historic District
* You Are Here - Woodrow . . . — — Map (db m175021) HM
On East Main Street near Saluda Street, on the right when traveling east.
First Presbyterian Church
This church was begun in 1854 as Antioch Chapel of
Ebenezer Church under the leadership of Rev. John
G. Richards, on land of the Steeles and Workmans,
3 mi. south of Rock Hill. Mission moved in 1858 to
this site, . . . — — Map (db m11052) HM
On Highland Turnpike (U.S. 250) 0.3 miles east of Water Tank Road ( Route 656), on the right when traveling east.
Neighbor fought neighbor on this ground during the Battle of McDowell. During the fighting, the 3rd Virginia Infantry (Union) moved to your left along the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike in an attempt to get around the Confederate right flank. . . . — — Map (db m235849) HM
On Blue Ridge Tunnel Trail 0.1 miles west of Afton Depot Lane, on the right when traveling west.
At the close of the eighteenth century, Virginia stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ohio River. The coastal plain, Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, and Alleghany Mountains lay between, with the James River running east to west. From the . . . — — Map (db m170607) HM
Near Three Notched Mountain Highway (U.S. 250) 0.8 miles north of Interstate 64, on the left when traveling north.
Dr. Robert Sumter Griffith's life involved railroads. Even the fact that he practiced medicine in Waynesboro is because of the railroad. The popular physician, never seen without his round wire spectacles and his trademark western bowtie, was born . . . — — Map (db m237790) HM
On Kenneth Jones Drive 0.2 miles west of Montgomery Avenue, on the left when traveling west.
"He possessed gigantic power without effort..." Staunton lawyer Daniel Sheffey
A Lawyer Arrives in Staunton
When 30-year-old Princeton educated lawyer John Howe Peyton (1778-1847) from Stafford Co., Va., moved to Staunton, he . . . — — Map (db m282860) HM
Near Mill Street south of Greenville Avenue (Business U.S. 250).
Who was John Lewis? Lewis Creek takes its name from John Lewis (1678-1762), one of the most prominent of the earliest settlers in the upper Shenandoah Valley.
In the early 1730s, Lewis and his family, who emigrated from County Donegal, . . . — — Map (db m134484) HM
On Route 236 at Carey Road, on the right when traveling south on Route 236.
The original Liberty Tree was a stately elm in Boston, Massachusetts. It was a rallying point for the Sons of Liberty, an organization of Patriots who played a key role in resisting British tyranny and creating support for rebellion against Great . . . — — Map (db m306867) HM
On State Highway 34, on the left when traveling west.
¼ mile east stood the home of Thomas Woodward, prominent leader of the South Carolina Regulator Movement, 1768-1769. He was a member of the First Provincial Congress and a charter member of the Mt. Zion Society. As Captain of Rangers in 1775-76 he . . . — — Map (db m47445) HM
On Eastside Highway (U.S. 340) 0.1 miles north of Teter Road.
Rockingham County. Rockingham County was formed from Augusta County in 1777. Harrisonburg was established as the county seat in 1780. Settlers migrating south and west along the Great Wagon Road, a route first developed by Native Americans, . . . — — Map (db m308013) HM
On Warm Springs Pike (Virginia Route 42) 0.1 miles north of Argahyll Lane, on the left when traveling south.
Rockingham County. Rockingham County was formed from Augusta County in 1777. Harrisonburg was established as the county seat in 1780. Settlers migrating south and west along the Great Wagon Road, a route first developed by Native Americans, . . . — — Map (db m307403) HM
On East Johnson Street at South Augusta Street, on the left when traveling east on East Johnson Street.
Augusta County, created by the Virginia General
Assembly in 1738, was formally organized in 1745.
Its original western boundary stretched “to the
utmost limits of Virginia,” a claim that then ex-
tended to the Pacific Ocean. The county . . . — — Map (db m208538) HM
On South Augusta Street at West Johnson Street, on the right when traveling south on South Augusta Street.
Dr. Humphreys (1757–1802), an important teacher in 18th-century Virginia, received his M. D. from the University of Edinburgh. He practiced medicine in Augusta County and Staunton from 1783 to 1802 in an office facing the county courthouse. . . . — — Map (db m11761) HM
Near Gourd Creek Cemetery Road 0.1 miles north of Farm to Market Road 1375.
Born in Virginia, Elijah Collard later settled on the frontier in Kentucky and in Missouri, where he fought in the War of 1812. Collard migrated to Texas in 1833. He was elected to the Consultation at San Felipe in 1835 and served on the General . . . — — Map (db m180242) HM
On Hornet Road north of Woodrow Wilson Avenue, on the left when traveling north.
The U.S. Army, needing stateside medical facilities during World War II, broke ground for Woodrow Wilson General Hospital here in June 1942. Named for the former U.S. president born in nearby Staunton, the hospital consisted of about 135 . . . — — Map (db m106826) HM
On Cedar Green Road 0.2 miles Parkersburg Turnpike ( Route 254), on the right when traveling west.
A rural African-American school stood here by 1874. In 1927 a two-room elementary school serving Cedar Green and Smokey Row communities was built. The Augusta County Training School (Cedar Green School), the county’s first black consolidated school, . . . — — Map (db m59711) HM
Near Three Notched Mountain Highway (U.S. 250) 0.9 miles north of Interstate 64, on the left when traveling north.
The Blue Ridge Tunnel was constructed between 1849 and 1859 beneath Rockfish Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia. The tunnel first opened in 1858 to allow rail access through Afton Mountain. It was designed by French immigrant . . . — — Map (db m172945) HM
Near The Glebe Lane (Virginia Route 615) at Southall Plantation Lane, on the right when traveling west.
In Virginia, the “Home Front” and the “Front Line” were often just miles apart during the Civil War. In places such as Charles City County families provided their men for troops and also lost the income from their plantations and other businesses . . . — — Map (db m18589) HM
On Blue Ridge Tunnel Trail just west of Afton Depot Lane, on the left when traveling west.
The Blue Ridge Tunnel was constructed between 1849 and 1859 beneath Rockfish Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia. The tunnel first opened in 1858 to allow rail access through Afton Mountain. It was designed by French immigrant . . . — — Map (db m170605) HM
On North Main Street (U.S. 11) at Park Boulevard (State Highway 16), on the right when traveling south on North Main Street.
Arthur Campbell, a military and political leader, was born in Augusta County in 1743. In 1758 during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), Campbell was captured by the Wyandot Indians aligned with the French and held captive for two years before . . . — — Map (db m36077) HM
On West Main Street (U.S. 340) east of Arch Avenue, on the left when traveling east.
Settlers began to arrive to present day Augusta County in the 1730s and by the Revolutionary War a small hamlet existed here. By 1797, it was known as Waynesborough, for Revolutionary War hero Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne. It became a town in 1801 and . . . — — Map (db m4032) HM
On State Highway 38, on the right when traveling west.
Iron ore was discovered here, 1835, by John Johnson. The Old Iron Furnace, built, 1848, was operated for six years by C.W. Bryant and Isaac Marsh. In 1850, a steam engine replaced the water power used to run fan air blast. Charcoal was fuel used. . . . — — Map (db m33929) HM
Eight panels mounted to the inside of the town gazebo depict some historical and notable features of the town.
Panel 1 - Town of Ansted
The town of Ansted, West Virginia chartered in 1891, was created because of coal. The town's . . . — — Map (db m173340) HM
On Courthouse Drive at Emergency Lane / Sabre Street, on the right when traveling south on Courthouse Drive.
Planting Roots in Putnam County
James William Hoge was born on April 9, 1830 in Staunton, Augusta County, Virginia to Reverend Peter C. and
Sallie Kerr Hoge. He studied law and was admitted to the bar at age 20 in 1850, later moving to . . . — — Map (db m247236) HM
Near Missouri Route 5 at Katy Trail, on the right when traveling south.
George Caleb Bingham was born March 20, 1811, in Augusta County, Virginia, to Henry and Mary Amend Bingham. Henry moved the family to Franklin in 1819. There they farmed, processed tobacco, and ran a hotel. Bingham's interest in painting started . . . — — Map (db m252614) HM
On North Main Street (New York State Route 65) 0.2 miles south of Pride Street, on the right when traveling south.
1st Sgt. Co. G, 8th NY Cavalry, awarded Medal of Honor for capture of flag at Battle of Waynesboro, VA, March 2, 1865. Interred Here. — — Map (db m200253) WM
On Library Drive 0.2 miles north of Community Center Drive, on the right when traveling west.
Col. Samuel Wear built Fort Wear in this vicinity about 1781, the year that Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. Fort Wear was one of nearly a dozen forts built in the 1780s in Sevier County. Its blockhouse was made from sturdy hand-hewn logs and . . . — — Map (db m258265) HM
On Sam Snead Highway (U.S. 220) at Courthouse Hill Road (County Route 614), on the right when traveling south on Sam Snead Highway.
The courthouse town of Warm Springs reflects more
than 200 years of settlement in the Warm Springs
Valley. Located near the center of Bath County,
this community encompasses a small village core
and its surrounding rural landscape. The . . . — — Map (db m208531) HM
On Farmville Highway (U.S. 15) at Cabbage Patch Road (County Route 654), on the right when traveling north on Farmville Highway.
Just to the north stands Briery Church, organized in 1755 following the missionary work of Presbyterian minister Samuel Davies. The first church was built about 1760 and was replaced in 1824. The present Gothic Revival church was built about 1855 . . . — — Map (db m40794) HM
On General Puller Highway (Virginia Route 33) at Lower Church Road, on the right when traveling east on General Puller Highway.
The first church on this site served Plankatank Parish (established in 1657) of the Church of England. When Plankatank and Lancaster Parishes combined to form Christ Church Parish in 1666, the building became a chapel of ease for the lower region . . . — — Map (db m309482) HM
On Virginia Avenue (State Highway 42), on the right when traveling south.
Rockbridge County. Area 616 Square Miles. Formed in 1778 from Augusta and Botetourt, and named for the Natural Bridge. Samuel Houston and Cyrus H. McCormick were born in this county. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are buried . . . — — Map (db m34306) HM
On Lee Jackson Highway (U.S. 11) near Raphine Road (County Route 606), on the right when traveling south.
Rockbridge County. Area 616 Square Miles. Formed in 1778 from Augusta and Botetourt, and named for the Natural Bridge. Samuel Houston and Cyrus H. McCormick were born in this county. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are . . . — — Map (db m23760) HM
On Lee Highway (U.S. 11) at Wadill Lane, on the right when traveling west on Lee Highway.
The nearby Aspenvale Cemetery contains
the grave of Brig. Gen. William Campbell,
Revolutionary War soldier, militia commander,
and regional political leader. Campbell was
born in Augusta County, Virginia. in 1745, and
by 1768 he had moved to . . . — — Map (db m130440) HM
Near Middlebrook Avenue (Virginia Route 252) west of South Augusta Street, on the left when traveling south.
Dr. Barnas Sears, a career educator and Baptist minister, was nearly 65 years old in 1867 when he resigned as president of Brown College in Providence, Rhode Island, and moved to Staunton.
He became the agent of the Peabody Educational Fund . . . — — Map (db m134485) HM
On McElroy Avenue, on the left when traveling south. Reported permanently removed.
William H. Harman
Colonel, C.S.A.
Born Feb. 17, 1828
Killed in action at
Waynesboro Mar 2, 1865.
He was a lieutenant of a com-
pany from Augusta County
in the Mexican War; after-
wards Brig. General in the
Virginia Militia; . . . — — Map (db m314561) HM
On Sugar Grove Road (West Virginia Route 21) just north of Propstburg Rd (Local Road 21/9), on the right when traveling south.
61 rods west stood original
round log church upon 3½
acre plot, deeded Dec.18, 1769,
by John Michael Propst and his
wife, Catherine, “for the congregation of the South Fork of the
Potowmack for five shillings
current money of Virginia.” — — Map (db m123901) HM
On Rockfish Gap Turnpike (U.S. 250) at Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway, on the right when traveling east on Rockfish Gap Turnpike.
Nelson County. Nelson County was named for Thomas Nelson, Governor of Virginia from June to November, 1871. It was formed in 1807 from Amherst County. Oak Ridge, birthplace of William Cabell Rives and later the residence of Thomas Fortune . . . — — Map (db m21701) HM
On Main Street 0.1 miles south of Leroy Road, on the left when traveling north. Reported permanently removed.
The crest of the hill was the site of Madison Hall, built in the mid-1700s for John Madison, the first Court Clerk of Augusta County, which originally included this area of Rockingham County within its frontier boundaries. In response to the . . . — — Map (db m254877) HM
On Jefferson Street at Van Buren Street, on the right when traveling west on Jefferson Street.
Built about 1830 for merchant Joseph Trotter, this house was purchased in 1838 by John J. McMahon, a Virginia-born cotton factor who divided his time between Courtland and New Orleans. The house remained the home of McMahon's descendants for nearly . . . — — Map (db m84307) HM
On West Main Street at Brookside Avenue, on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
By 1809, Andrew Campbell, a native of Augusta County, Virginia, located where present-day Campbellsville is situated, acquired a portion of Joseph Richerson's 10,000 acres survey. Campbell operated a grist and saw mill on Buckhorn Creek. He opened a . . . — — Map (db m169680) HM
On Morgan Street near Main Street (U.S. 40), on the left when traveling east.
One of America's greatest painters, George Caleb Bingham, was known during his lifetime as "the Missouri Artist" for his depictions of frontier life and portraits.
Bingham was born in Augusta County, Virginia, March 20, 1811, and in 1819 the . . . — — Map (db m45975) HM
On State Highway 72 at Mt. Carmel Road (State Highway 823), on the left when traveling south on State Highway 72.
5.5 miles southeast is the burial ground of Patrick and Martha Caldwell Calhoun, Parents of John C. Calhoun; Deputy Surveyor 1756; First Representative from Up Country to Commons House of Assembly, 1769-1772; Member of First Provincial Congress, . . . — — Map (db m10627) HM
On Grand Cavern Road west of South River Road, on the left when traveling west.
The Creation of Shenandoah National Park
This stone chimney was placed here to honor the people of the Blue Ridge Mountains who lost their homes, land and livelihood when Shenandoah National Park was formed in the 1930s. The memorial . . . — — Map (db m308045) HM
Near Frontier Drive north of Barterbrook Road, on the right when traveling north.
Settling the Valley
Colonial authorities encouraged Protestant immigrants to move to the Valley of Virginia starting in the 1720s and 1730s. Over the next decades, mostly Ulster Scot, German, English, and Virginian settlers established . . . — — Map (db m298905) HM
On John Lewis Road north of Woodrow Wilson Avenue, on the right when traveling north.
Groundbreaking for the Woodrow Wilson General Hospital was June 26, 1942. The hospital was named after Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States and a native of the neighboring city of Staunton. The federal government acquired 652 . . . — — Map (db m106827) HM WM
On Battlefield Road (Virginia Route 608) 0.4 miles south of Piedmont Road, on the right when traveling south.
(front)
Brigadier General William E. "Grumble" Jones
Confederate Army of the Valley District
Battle of Piedmont
Just north of here on this field on the afternoon of June 5, 1864, Brig. Gen. William E. "Grumble” Jones fell . . . — — Map (db m267954) HM WM
On Grand Cavern Road west of South River Road, on the left when traveling west.
"There was just worlds of people lived back in that mountain."
— Rufus Cline, 1902-1986, New Hope, Augusta County
From the Shenandoah National Park Oral History Collection, James Madison University
Near Lambert Street west of North Augusta Street (Business U.S. 11), on the right when traveling west.
Staunton, Virginia has been called the "Queen City" because of the economic, social, and cultural influences which converged there in its role as the seat of Augusta County, once the largest county in the United States. Fairview Cemetery presents a . . . — — Map (db m274392) HM
On Harpine Highway (Virginia Route 42) at Trissels Road ( Route 809), on the left when traveling north on Harpine Highway.
Mennonites first entered the northern Shenandoah
Valley about 1730 and settled in present-day
Rockingham and Augusta Counties by the 1770s.
They initially worshiped in private houses. The
original Trissels Church (also known as Brush
Church) . . . — — Map (db m173210) HM
On Bowman Road (Virginia Route 732) at High Street, on the right when traveling west on Bowman Road.
Religious Dissenters
After his famed 1716 expedition to the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Governor Alexander Spotswood decided to encourage settlement of the Virginia's western frontier by religious dissenters-such as Presbyterians, . . . — — Map (db m280272) HM
On Main Street (Business Virginia Route 42) south of Eberly Road ( Route 732), on the right when traveling south.
Living first at Oyster Bay on New York's Long Island, the English family of Isaiah Harrison moved on to Delaware where he owned substantial acreage. About 1732, the family moved south, landing by ship at the port of Alexandria. From there, they . . . — — Map (db m280644) HM
On Main Street (Business Virginia Route 42) south of Eberly Road ( Route 732), on the right when traveling south.
The First Settlers
When Daniel Harrison and wife Margaret settled here about 1745, they were among the earliest wave of pioneers west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Their home, along the banks of Cook's Creek, became a center of frontier . . . — — Map (db m280345) HM
On Constitution Drive 0.2 miles Thornrose Avenue, on the left when traveling east.
George Glenn Bartley, Sr. and Linda Bartley
The Gypsy Hill Park Train
The Barley Years
This Gypsy Express train is #732, the 232nd G-16 built by The Miniature Train & Railroad Co. It was completed on June 12, . . . — — Map (db m170585) HM
Near Kenneth Jones Drive just west of Montgomery Avenue, on the left when traveling west.
"I give and bequeath to my beloved wife Ann M. Peyton...four negro men and four negro women to be selected by herself from all I may own..." Will of John Howe Peyton
Remembering their Humanity
The dehumanizing nature of . . . — — Map (db m282982) HM
Thin black lines indicate changes in relevance. Between each pair of lines entries are ordered geographically but all have the same relevance.
* Inflectional forms of words are their plurals, singulars, and possessives as well as gramatical tenses and similar variations.
