Shortly after Congress authorized the creation of two new eastern national parks—Shenandoah and Great Smokey Mountains—President Franklin Roosevelt saw great opportunity in constructing the first "national rural parkway" to connect . . . — — Map (db m170604) HM
During Restoration of the Blue Ridge Tunnel, measures were taken to minimize disturbance of wildlife. With removal of bulkheads from the center, the passage can now provide additional, ideal wintering habitat for bats and year-round habitats for . . . — — Map (db m196499) HM
Census records and other documents prove that hundreds of the Irish immigrants who worked on the Blue Ridge Railroad resided in Augusta county. Many rented houses or built shanties that lined both sides of the Rockfish Gap Turnpike. From the bottom . . . — — Map (db m196501) HM
George Moffett (1735–1811), a prominent regional military and civic leader, had joined the Augusta County militia by 1758. He participated in the French and Indian War (1756–1763), led a militia company at the Battle of Point Pleasant in . . . — — Map (db m30460) HM
Born near Churchville on 25 Feb. 1843, Hanger joined the Churchville Cavalry at Phillipi, W.Va., on 2 June 1861, where the next morning he was wounded. The resulting amputation of his leg was probably the first of the Civil War. He convalesced at . . . — — Map (db m15905) HM
Near this spot in 1764, Shawnee Indians killed John Tremble (Trimble) in the last such event in Augusta County. During the preceding decade, a series of conflicts between Native Americans and European settlers occurred along the western frontier of . . . — — Map (db m30461) HM
Mount Pleasant, a venerable stone dwelling exemplifying traditional Shenandoah Valley domestic architecture, was erected on the 1740 land grant to John Moffett from King George II. Originally known as Moffetts Bottom, early probate records reflect a . . . — — Map (db m30448) HM
Five miles east, formerly known as Woods’ Gap. Michael Woods, his three sons and three Wallace sons-in-law (Andrew, Peter, William), coming from Pennsylvania via Shenandoah Valley, crossed through this pass into Albemarle County in 1734 – . . . — — Map (db m16644) HM
This was first the Southern Branch of the “Triple Forks of Shenandoah” Congregation, which called John Craig as pastor in 1741. A church was completed here about 1748; two other buildings have succeeded it. Beginning with 1777, James Waddel, the . . . — — Map (db m122178) HM
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
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
In 1947 the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center became the first
state comprehensive rehabilitation
center in the United States. Operated
by the Virginia Department of
Rehabilitative Services, this residential facility offers various . . . — — Map (db m50617) HM
Soon after the Civil War ended in 1865, Confederate veteran Charles S. Roller began teaching at the Old Stone Church nearby at Ft. Defiance. By 1874 he had founded Augusta Male Academy and incorporated military discipline into its classical . . . — — Map (db m11900) HM
In 1865, after returning from the Civil War, Professor Charles S. Roller began educating other returning veterans of the Confederacy in a small house near the old stone church. In 1874, Augusta Male Academy was founded in the current museum . . . — — Map (db m162829) HM
This, the oldest Presbyterian house of worship in Virginia, is an eloquent memorial to the liberty-loving, god-fearing Scotch-Irish folk who first settled this part of the valley.
Through their arduous labors the building was completed in 1747 . . . — — Map (db m89111) HM
The Augusta Stone Church, Virginia's oldest Presbyterian church in continuous use west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, opened on 22 Jan. 1749. It replaced a log meetinghouse built shortly after the congregation's founding in 1740. At the outbreak of . . . — — Map (db m155473) HM
In Commemoration
of the visit of
The President of the
United States,
Dwight D. Eisenhower,
to the
Augusta Military Academy
October 27, 1960 — — Map (db m162833) HM
Dedicated to
Julian Quarles, '35
for his service to his
country, his commitment
to AMA and honoring the
75th anniversary of his
graduation from AMA. — — Map (db m162830) HM
John Craig, born in County Antrim, Ireland, and educated in Edinburgh, Scotland, immigrated to America in 1734. Ordained pastor in 1740 of the two churches known as Augusta Stone and Tinkling Spring, Craig was Virginia's first settled Presbyterian . . . — — Map (db m155472) HM
This 1886 bell was
the school bell for many
years. It was said the
bell could be heard
3 miles away. It was
housed in the bell tower
of the Roller-Robinson
House, now the AMA
Alumni House and
Museum. It was donated
by Sam Clegg, '60 — — Map (db m162831) HM
George Caleb Bingham, a renowned American genre painter of the 19th century, was born in a frame house just north of here on 20 March 1811. Bingham moved to Missouri in 1819, where he began painting portraits in the 1830s and later specialized in . . . — — Map (db m13620) HM
Unwanted pests and wildlife threatened crops. The scarecrow, or hay-man, was developed to deter animals from disturbing gardens. Lime and other materials were used to keep worms and insects at bay. Edge plantings helped keep rodents from eating . . . — — Map (db m146206) HM
The challenge of growing sufficient crops created hard work for farmers, who kept a wary eye out for late frosts, droughts, and excessive rain. Any of these weather conditions could prevent them from raising an adequate supply of food and threaten . . . — — Map (db m146203) HM
When fertile bottom farm land was not available or too expensive for 19th century homesteaders, mountain land provided a difficult but usually viable alternative. A mountain plot could yield a variety of crops that made it possible to sustain a . . . — — Map (db m146202) HM
The rambling stone walls seen nearby are remnants of “hog-walls.” Built in the early 1800’s they provided winter work for slaves of valley plantations and were mended yearly to control the wanderings of half-wild hogs that foraged for . . . — — Map (db m161496) HM
Imagine what it was like to farm here? Fertile land was scarce and had to be carefully used to provide food and income for families. The rocky, thin soil on the sloping small plots made the work difficult. The limited growing season, population . . . — — Map (db m146204) HM
After the American Revolution, prosperous farms filled the fertile Shenandoah Valley, growing food for Eastern cities. On nearby mountains like this one, descendants of Scots-Irish Protestants and other dispossessed people scraped together savings . . . — — Map (db m146205) HM
Nestled here in the countryside south of Staunton,
along historic Middlebrook Road, is one of the
oldest villages in the region. William and Nancy
Scott sold the first 27 lots in April 1799 to
Scots-Irish and German settlers. In 1851, . . . — — Map (db m50388) HM
Shenandoah Valley circuit-riding preacher Paul
Henkel formed Mount Tabor Lutheran Church
about 1785, several miles to the east. It shared a
log building with St. John’s, a Lutheran and
Reformed union congregation. Under the direction
of David . . . — — Map (db m50578) HM
Near this spot stood the frame dwelling of David Frederick Bittle, pastor of Mt. Tabor Lutheran Church, in which he began in the Fall of 1842, with the assistance of Christopher C. Baughman, also a Lutheran minister, a school for young men called . . . — — Map (db m50575) HM
This Avenue of Trees, sponsored by Clemmer-McGuffin Post 13, American Legion and Auxiliary, was given in loving memory by the people of Staunton and Augusta County in memoriam 1917-1918. — — Map (db m50605) HM
Colonists first settled Mossy Creek in the 1740s. Mossy Creek Iron Works was founded by 1775, when partners Henry Miller and Mark Bird began operating an iron furnace, forge, and mills here. The ironworks became an important industrial enterprise . . . — — Map (db m1841) HM
The village of Stokesville, established by 1901,
became a boomtown after the Chesapeake Western
Railway was extended here in 1902. Tram lines
into the mountains brought timber to the rail
head. Lumber mills, bark tanneries, a stave and
heading . . . — — Map (db m98139) HM
Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church traces its existence to 1789 when Shenandoah Valley circuit preacher Paul Henkel held services for the German community in a schoolhouse nearby at Seawright Springs. By 1805, the congregation had built a frame . . . — — Map (db m30445) HM
The Battle of Piedmont, fought on June 5, 1864 between Union Gen. David Hunter and Confederate Gen. William E. "Grumble" Jones, ended here. It began more than a mile northeast when the 12,000-man strong Federal army, whose mission was to scour the . . . — — Map (db m155471) HM
On 5 June 1864, Confederate Brig. Gen. William E.
“Grumble” Jones deployed his 5,600-man force to
stop Union Maj. Gen. David Hunter’s advance on
Staunton. The main battle line formed just south of
here. Jones repulsed two assaults by . . . — — Map (db m155468) HM
Here on June 5, 1864, was fought the Battle of Piedmont for the possession of Staunton.
Union Forces under Gen. David Hunter 12,015 men and suffered a loss of 130 killed and 650 wounded. Confederate forces numbering 5,600 men under Gen. . . . — — Map (db m193109) HM
The Rev. John Blair, a minister influenced by the Great Awakening, organized New Providence Presbyterian Church about 1746. The congregation moved to a site seven miles west of here about 1760, and the present Greek Revival-style sanctuary was . . . — — Map (db m172318) HM
Where Cyrus Hall McCormick invented and in 1831 demonstrated the first successful reaper to introduce the era of farm mechanization is designated an Historic Landmark of Agricultural Engineering by American Society of Agricultural Engineers. — — Map (db m172943) HM
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
Two miles west. The first church was built by Colonel Robert Doak in 1779. Captain James Tate, an elder, led in the battles of Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse (1781) a company drawn mainly from this church. In the churchyard 23 Revolutionary . . . — — Map (db m32104) HM
This reproduction of an 1857 lithograph of Staunton from Sears Hill depicts the community on the eve of the Civil War. Most of the buildings seen in this view have been replaced by newer structures.
Edward Beyer, a graduate of Dusseldorf . . . — — Map (db m175020) HM
Five miles west is the birthplace of Virginia Institute, founded in 1842 by David F. Bittle, assisted by Christopher C. Baughman. Chartered on January 30, 1845, as Virginia Collegiate Institute, the school was moved to Salem, Virginia, in 1847, and . . . — — Map (db m32079) HM
(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
Two and a half miles northwest. As early as 1748 a log meeting house stood there. In 1793 a stone church (still standing) was built. In 1859 it was succeeded by a brick church, which gave way to the present building in 1918. In the graveyard rest . . . — — Map (db m23759) HM
John Colter, born in Stuart's Draft about 1775, was a member of the northwest expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (1804-1806). During his subsequent, solitary explorations of the West, Colter traversed the area now comprising . . . — — Map (db m46393) HM
The vestry of Augusta Parish purchased 200 acres here in 1749 to serve as a glebe, farmland set aside to support the minister. Just to the southwest, on a portion of this property, the parish established the first public cemetery in the vicinity. . . . — — Map (db m159738) HM
In 1862, West View was a village of about 15 buildings including a flour mill, post office, store, wagon shop and saw mills. About 3,000 soldiers camped in the surrounding fields from April 20 to May 6. Confederates under Gen. Edward . . . — — Map (db m15788) HM
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
Here stood, from the early 19th century until the mid-1900s, the tavern and stagecoach stop first owned by Peter Hanger. In 1848 its second proprietor, Samuel Harnsbarger, planted a willow tree in a spring here, across the newly-constructed Valley . . . — — Map (db m11811) HM
This church, seven and a half miles west, was organized by John Blair in 1746. Five successive church buildings have been erected. The first pastor was John Brown. Samuel Brown, second pastor, had as wife Mary Moore, captured in youth by Indians . . . — — Map (db m122187) HM
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
I am the Star Spangled Banner..... conceived in 1777 out of the love America bore for Liberty and Honor. I am the memorial of countless heroes who shed their blood to preserve this sacred heritage. I have inspired generations of gallant men . . . — — Map (db m197524) WM
Tunneling in the 1850s often required timbered vertical shafts. Workers were hoisted down in buckets to the tunnel level, where they blasted horizontally into the mountain. Meanwhile other men blasted into it sideways from both portals. In theory, . . . — — Map (db m234138) HM
Although work began on Skyline Drive in 1933, the vision of extending the scenic roadway to connect to the planned Blue Ridge Parkway was not realized until 1939 when the final section, Jarman Gap to Rockfish Gap was completed. Rangers welcomed . . . — — Map (db m95954) HM
Deaths of laborers and their family members were frequent along the Blue Ridge Railroad. Pneumonia, tuberculosis, and heart disease took a heavy toll. About thirty-three Irish men, women, and children living in shanties near the tunnel perished . . . — — Map (db m237793) HM
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
On April 20, 1862, the Confederate garrison left Fort Johnson to protect Staunton, and to avoid being cut off from the rear by another advancing Union Army. Lt. Pryor describes the retreat from the mountain.
Camp at Westview, 7 mil N, Of Staunton . . . — — Map (db m16783) HM
February 23, 1862
My Dear Penelope,
I write a few lines this morning to let you know that I am well & doing as well as I have since Iv been in the service. Well, Dear, wee had an alarm Friday knight about two oclock, and the way . . . — — Map (db m16776) HM
Union forces now occupied Fort Johnson and were moving to capture Staunton. “Stonewall” Jackson, moving with speed and secrecy, had arrived at the foot of Shenandoah Mountain and moved west to defeat Union Generals John C. Fremont and . . . — — Map (db m16784) HM
Camp Shenandoah April 9th, 1862 My Dear Penelope, I take the opportunity this morning to write you a few lines to let you know that I am yet in the land of the living and enjoying good health. I thought last week that it was done . . . — — Map (db m16777) HM
Camp Shenandoah April 18th, 1862 My Dear Penelope, I take the opportunity this evening to write you a few lines to let you know that I am yet in the land of the living &, thank God, enjoying good health. Wee are now looking out for a fight here; . . . — — Map (db m16781) HM
Confederate troops, the remnant of the Army of the Northwest commanded by Brig. Gen. Edward “Allegheny” Johnson, constructed this fortification about 1 Apr. 1862 to protect the Shenandoah Valley, the “Breadbasket of the . . . — — Map (db m15791) HM
After surviving the Battle of McDowell, in which he lost many comrades, Lt. “Shep” Pryor was later wounded in battle near Culpepper, Virginia. He survived the war, returned to his beloved Penelope, and became Sheriff of Sumter County, . . . — — Map (db m16785) HM
Highland County. Area 422 square miles. Formed in 1847 from Pendleton and Bath, and given its name because of its mountains. The Battle of McDowell, 1862, was fought in this county.
Augusta County. Area 1006 square . . . — — Map (db m30389) HM
The Battle of McDowell began three miles to the southeast (near the intersection of Routes 629 and 716) when Confederates were fired upon by Union cavalry on May 7, 1862. After skirmishing, Federals rushed to the base camp here, sounding the . . . — — Map (db m62920) HM
One mile west at Weyers Cave on April 30, 1927, twenty-eight students of vocational agriculture formed the Future Farmers of Virginia which became the Future Farmers of America in 1928 at Kansas City. The organization has grown to include all of . . . — — Map (db m30414) HM
Rockingham County. Area 876 square miles. Formed in 1778 from Augusta, and named for the Marquis of Rockingham, British statesman. John Seiver, of Tennessee, was born in this county. In it took place the battles of Cross Keys . . . — — Map (db m12369) HM
