![Shenandoah valley farm 0163](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Shenandoah_valley_farm_0163.jpg)
The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic
valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...
and
cultural region
In anthropology and geography, a cultural region, cultural sphere, cultural area or culture area refers to a geography with one relatively homogeneous human activity or complex of activities (culture). Such activities are often associated ...
of western
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and the
Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia
The Eastern Panhandle is the eastern of the two panhandles in the U.S. state of West Virginia; the other is the Northern Panhandle. It is a small stretch of territory in the northeast of the state, bordering Maryland and Virginia. Some sources ...
. The valley is bounded to the east by the
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsy ...
, to the west by the eastern front of the
Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians
The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending ...
(excluding
Massanutten Mountain
Massanutten Mountain is a synclinal ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, located in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is near the West Virginia state line.
Geography
The mountain bisects the Shenandoah Valley just east of Strasburg ...
), to the north by the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
and to the south by the
James River. The cultural region covers a larger area that includes all of the valley plus the Virginia highlands to the west, and the
Roanoke Valley
The Roanoke Valley ( ) in southwest Virginia is an area adjacent to and including the Roanoke River between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian Plateau to the west. The valley includes much of Roanoke County, as well as the ...
to the south. It is
physiographically located within the Ridge and Valley province and is a portion of the
Great Appalachian Valley
The Great Appalachian Valley, also called The Great Valley or Great Valley Region, is one of the major landform features of eastern North America. It is a gigantic trough—a chain of valley lowlands—and the central feature of the Appalachian M ...
.
Geography
Named for
the river that stretches much of its length, the Shenandoah Valley encompasses eight counties in Virginia and two counties in West Virginia.
*
Augusta County, Virginia
*
Clarke County, Virginia
Clarke County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,783. Its county seat is Berryville. Clarke County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistic ...
*
Frederick County, Virginia
Frederick County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,419. Its county seat is Winchester. The county was formed in 1743 by the splitting of Orange County. It is Virginia's northernmost county ...
*
Page County, Virginia
Page County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,709. Its county seat is Luray. Page County was formed in 1831 from Shenandoah and Rockingham counties and was named for John Page, Governor ...
*
Rockbridge County, Virginia
Rockbridge County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,650. Its county seat is the city of Lexington. Rockbridge County completely surrounds the in ...
*
Rockingham County, Virginia
Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,757. Its county seat is the independent city of Harrisonburg.
Along with Harrisonburg, Rockingham County forms the Harrisonbur ...
*
Shenandoah County, Virginia
*
Warren County, Virginia
Warren County is a U.S. county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The 2020 census places Warren County within the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area with a population of 40,727. The county seat is ...
*
Berkeley County, West Virginia
Berkeley County is located in the Shenandoah Valley in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Hagerstown- Martinsburg, MD- WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the co ...
*
Jefferson County, West Virginia
Jefferson County is located in the Shenandoah Valley in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. It is the easternmost county of the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,701. Its county seat is Charles Tow ...
The
antebellum
Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to:
United States history
* Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States
** Antebellum Georgia
** Antebellum South Carolina
** Antebellum Virginia
* Antebellum ...
composition included four additional counties that are now in West Virginia as well as four additional Virginia counties.
*
Morgan County, West Virginia
Morgan County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,063. Its county seat is Berkeley Springs. The county was formed in 1820 from parts of Hampshire and Berkeley Counties and named ...
*
Hampshire County, West Virginia
Hampshire County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 23,093. Its county seat is Romney, West Virginia, Romney, West Virginia's oldest town ( ...
*
Hardy County, West Virginia
Hardy County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,299. Its county seat is Moorefield. The county was created from Hampshire County in 1786 and named for Samuel Hardy, a distinguished V ...
*
Pendleton County, West Virginia
Pendleton County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,143, making it the second-least populous county in West Virginia. Its county seat is Franklin. The county was created by the ...
*
Botetourt County, Virginia
*
Alleghany County, Virginia
Alleghany County is an American county located on the far western edge of Commonwealth of Virginia. It is bordered by the Allegheny Mountains, from which the county derives its name, and it is the northernmost part of the Roanoke Region. The ...
*
Bath County, Virginia
*
Highland County, Virginia
Highland County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,232. Its county seat is Monterey. Known as "Virginia's Switzerland" or "Virginia's Little Switzerland", Highland County is the lea ...
The cultural region includes five more counties in Virginia:
*
Highland County
*
Bath County
*
Alleghany County
*
Botetourt County
Botetourt County ( ) is a US county that lies in the Roanoke Region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Located in the mountainous portion of the state, the county is bordered by two major ranges, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mou ...
*
Roanoke County
Between the Roanoke Valley in the south and
Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...
in the north, where the
Shenandoah River joins the
Potomac, the Valley cultural region contains 10 independent cities:
*
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
*
Harrisonburg
*
Waynesboro
*
Staunton
*
Lexington
*
Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to:
Places Canada
*Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista”
*Buena Vista, Saskatchewan
*Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...
*
Covington
*
Roanoke
*
Salem
The central section of the Shenandoah Valley is split in half by the
Massanutten Mountain
Massanutten Mountain is a synclinal ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, located in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is near the West Virginia state line.
Geography
The mountain bisects the Shenandoah Valley just east of Strasburg ...
range, with the smaller associated
Page Valley
The Page Valley is a small valley geographically and culturally associated with the Shenandoah Valley. The valley is located between the Massanutten and Blue Ridge mountain ranges in western Virginia.
Geography
The valley is approximately lo ...
lying to its east and the
Fort Valley within the mountain range.
Notable caves
The Shenandoah Valley contains a number of geologically and historically significant limestone caves:
*
Skyline Caverns
Skyline Caverns is a series of geologic caves and a tourist attraction located in Warren County, Virginia, south of Front Royal. The caverns were discovered by Walter S. Amos, a retired geologist and mineralogist from Winchester, Virginia, on Dec ...
*
Luray Caverns
Luray Caverns, originally called Luray Cave, is a cave just west of Luray, Virginia, United States, which has drawn many visitors since its discovery in 1878. The cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems such as columns, mud flows, s ...
, designated a
National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...
in 1974
*
Shenandoah Caverns
*
Endless Caverns
*
Grand Caverns
Grand Caverns, formerly known as Weyer's Cave, is located in the central Shenandoah Valley in the town of Grottoes, Virginia, United States. A limestone cavern, it claims the distinction of being America's oldest show cave, in operation since 18 ...
, designated a National Natural Landmark in 1973
*
Dixie Caverns
Etymology
The word ''Shenandoah'' is of unknown
Native American origin. It has been described as being derived from the Anglicization of Native American terms, resulting in words such as Gerando, Gerundo, Genantua, Shendo and Sherando. The meaning of these words is of some question. ''Schin-han-dowi'', the "River Through the Spruces"; ''On-an-da-goa'', the "River of High Mountains" or "Silver-Water"; and an Iroquois word for "Big Meadow", have all been proposed by Native American
etymologists
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words and ...
. The most popular, romanticized belief is that the name comes from a Native American expression for "Beautiful Daughter of the Stars".
Another legend relates that the name is derived from the name of the
Iroquoian
The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking.
As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian ...
chief ''Sherando'' (Sherando was also the name of his people), who fought against the
Algonquian Chief ''
Opechancanough
Opechancanough (; 1554–1646)Rountree, Helen C. Pocahontas, Powhatan, ''Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown.'' University of Virginia Press: Charlottesville, 2005 was paramount chief of the Tsenacommacah, Powhatan Confed ...
'', ruler of the
Powhatan Confederacy
The Powhatan people (; also spelled Powatan) may refer to any of the indigenous Algonquian people that are traditionally from eastern Virginia. All of the Powhatan groups descend from the Powhatan Confederacy. In some instances, The Powhata ...
(1618–1644). Opechancanough liked the interior country so much that he sent his son ''Sheewa-a-nee'' from the
Tidewater with a large party to colonize the valley. Sheewa-a-nee drove Sherando back to his former territory near the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
. According to this account, descendants of Sheewanee's party became the
Shawnee
The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
. According to tradition, another branch of Iroquoians, the ''Senedo'', lived in present-day Shenandoah County. They were exterminated by "Southern Indians" (
Catawba Catawba may refer to:
*Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas
*Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family
*Catawban languages
Botany
*Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other N ...
or
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
) before the arrival of white settlers.
Another story dates to the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. Throughout the war, Chief
Skenandoa
John Skenandoa (; c. 1706 – March 11, 1816), also called Shenandoah () among other forms, was an elected chief (a so-called "pine tree chief") of the Oneida. He was born into the Iroquoian-speaking Susquehannocks, but was adopted into th ...
of the
Oneida, an Iroquois nation based in
New York, persuaded many of the tribe to side with the colonials against the British. Four Iroquois nations became British allies, and caused many fatalities and damage in the frontier settlements west of
Albany. Skenandoa led 250 warriors against the British and Iroquois allies. According to Oneida oral tradition, during the harsh winter of 1777–1778 at
Valley Forge
Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the ...
, where the colonials suffered, Chief Skenando provided aid to the soldiers. The Oneida delivered bushels of dry corn to the troops to help them survive. Polly Cooper, an Oneida woman, stayed some time with the troops to teach them how to cook the corn properly and care for the sick. General Washington gave her a shawl in thanks, which is displayed at ''Shako:wi,'' the museum of the
Oneida Nation
The Oneida Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Oneida people in Wisconsin. The tribe's reservation spans parts of two counties west of the Green Bay metropolitan area. The reservation was established by treaty in 1838, and was allotted to ...
near
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
. Many Oneida believe that after the war, George Washington named the Shenandoah River and valley after his ally.
History
First European explorers
Despite the valley's potential for productive farmland, colonial settlement from the east was long delayed by the barrier of the
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsy ...
. These were crossed by explorers
John Lederer
John Lederer was a 17th-century German physician and an explorer of the Appalachian Mountains. He and the members of his party became the first Europeans to crest the Blue Ridge Mountains (1669) and the first to see the Shenandoah Valley and the ...
at
Manassas Gap
Manassas Gap is a wind gap of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the border of Fauquier County and Warren County in Virginia. At an elevation of 887 feet above sea level, it is the lowest crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the state. "The origins o ...
in 1671, Batts and Fallam the same year, and
Cadwallader Jones Cadwallader may refer to:
*Cadwallader (name), a surname and given name; the article list of people with this name
*Cadwaladr (name), the standard Welsh form of this name; the article lists other variant spellings
*Cadwalader (disambiguation), a fu ...
in 1682. The Swiss Franz Ludwig Michel and
Christoph von Graffenried explored and mapped the Valley in 1706 and 1712, respectively. Von Graffenried reported that the Indians of ''Senantona'' (Shenandoah) had been alarmed by news of the recent
Tuscarora War
The Tuscarora War was fought in North Carolina from September 10, 1711 until February 11, 1715 between the Tuscarora people and their allies on one side and European American settlers, the Yamassee, and other allies on the other. This was con ...
in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
.
18th century
Governor
Alexander Spotswood
Alexander Spotswood (12 December 1676 – 7 June 1740) was a British Army officer, explorer and lieutenant governor of Colonial Virginia; he is regarded as one of the most significant historical figures in British North American colonial h ...
's legendary
Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition
The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition, also known as the Transmontane Expedition, took place in 1716 in the British Colony of Virginia. The Royal Governor and a number of prominent citizens traveled westward, across the Blue Ridge Moun ...
of 1716 crossed the Blue Ridge at
Swift Run Gap
Swift Run Gap is a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains located in the U.S. state of Virginia.
Geography
At an elevation of , it is the site of the mountain crossing of U.S. Highway 33 between the Piedmont region on the eastern side and the Sh ...
and reached the river at
Elkton, Virginia
Elkton (formerly Conrad's Store) is an incorporated town in Rockingham County, Virginia, United States. It is included in the Harrisonburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,762 at the 2010 census. Elkton was named for the Elk ...
. Settlers did not immediately follow, but someone who heard the reports and later became the first permanent settler in the Valley was
Adam Miller (Mueller), who in 1727 staked out claims on the south fork of the Shenandoah River, near the line that now divides Rockingham County from Page County.
The
Great Wagon Road
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
(later called the
Valley Pike
Valley Pike or Valley Turnpike is the traditional name given for the Indian trail and roadway which now approximates as U.S. Route 11 in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
Long before the arrival of English colonists, Native Americans of the De ...
or Valley Turnpike) began as the Great Warriors Trail or Indian Road, a Native road through common hunting grounds shared by several tribes settled around the periphery, which included
Iroquoian
The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking.
As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian ...
,
Siouan
Siouan or Siouan–Catawban is a language family of North America that is located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east.
Name
Authors who call the enti ...
and
Algonquian-language family tribes. Known native settlements within the Valley were few, but included the
Shawnee
The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
occupying the region around Winchester, and
Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following:
First nations and Native American people and culture
* Tuscarora people
**''Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960)
* Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people
* ...
around what is now
Martinsburg, West Virginia
Martinsburg is a city in and the seat of Berkeley County, West Virginia, in the tip of the state's Eastern Panhandle region in the lower Shenandoah Valley. Its population was 18,835 in the 2021 census estimate, making it the largest city in the E ...
. In the late 1720s and 1730s,
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
and
Mennonite
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
s began to move in from
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. They were tolerated by the natives, while "
Long Knives" (English settlers from coastal
Virginia colony
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (histor ...
) were less welcomed. During these same decades, the valley route continued to be used by war parties of
Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
(Iroquois) and
Lenape ''en route'' from New York, Pennsylvania and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
to attack the distant
Catawba Catawba may refer to:
*Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas
*Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family
*Catawban languages
Botany
*Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other N ...
in the Carolinas, with whom they were at war. The Catawba in turn pursued the war parties northward, often overtaking them by the time they reached the Potomac. Several fierce battles were fought among the warring nations in the Valley region, as attested by the earliest European-American settlers.
Later colonists called this route the
Great Wagon Road
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
; it became the major thoroughfare for immigrants' moving by wagons from Pennsylvania and northern Virginia into the backcountry of the
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
. The Valley Turnpike Company improved the road by paving it with
macadam prior to the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
and set up toll gates to collect fees to pay for the improvements. After the advent of motor vehicles, the road was refined and paved appropriately for their use. In the 20th century, the road was acquired by the
Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United Stat ...
, which incorporated it into the state highway system as
U.S. Route 11. For much of its length, the newer
Interstate 81
Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Isla ...
, constructed in the 1960s, parallels the old Valley Pike.
Along with the first German settlers, known as "Shenandoah Deitsch", many Scotch-Irish American, Scotch-Irish immigrants came south in the 1730s from Pennsylvania into the valley, via the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
. The Scotch-Irish comprised the largest group of non-English immigrants from the British Isles before the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, and most migrated into the backcountry of the South. This was in contrast to the chiefly English immigrants who had settled the Virginia Tidewater region, Tidewater and Carolina Piedmont (United States), Piedmont regions.
Along with the Ulster Scots many Irishmen arrived in the Shenandoah valley, usually after their indentured service was up. These Irishmen usually had converted to Protestantism or kept their faith secret. In the 18th-century Thirteen Colonies and the independent United States, while interethnic marriage among Catholics remained a dominant pattern, Catholic-Protestant intermarriage became more common (notably in the Shenandoah Valley where intermarriage among Ulster Protestants and the significant minority of Irish Catholics in particular was not uncommon or stigmatized),
and while fewer Catholic parents required that their children be disinherited in their wills if they renounced Catholicism, it remained more common among Catholic parents to do so if their children renounced their parents' faith than it was in the rest of the U.S. population.
Governor Spotswood had arranged the Treaty of Albany with the Iroquois (Six Nations) in 1721, whereby they had agreed not to come east of the Blue Ridge in their raiding parties on tribes farther to the South. In 1736, the Iroquois began to object, claiming that they still legally owned the land to the west of the Blue Ridge; this led to a skirmish with Valley settlers in 1743. The Iroquois were on the verge of declaring war on the Virginia Colony as a result, when Governor Gooch paid them the sum of 100 pounds sterling for any settled land in the Valley that was claimed by them. The following year at the Treaty of Lancaster, the Iroquois sold all their remaining claim to the Valley for 200 pounds in gold.
The few Shawnees who still resided in the Valley abruptly headed westward in 1754, having been approached the year before by emissaries from their kindred beyond the Allegheny Mountains, Alleghenies.
[Doddridge, p.44–45]
19th century
The Shenandoah Valley was known as the breadbasket of the Confederate States of America, Confederacy during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
and was seen as a backdoor for Confederate raids on Maryland, Washington, D.C., Washington, and
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. Because of its strategic importance it was the scene of three major campaigns. The first was the Valley Campaign, Valley Campaign of 1862, in which Confederate States Army, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson defended the valley against three numerically superior Union Army, Union armies. The final two were the Valley Campaigns of 1864. First, in the summer of 1864, Confederate General Jubal Early cleared the valley of its Union occupiers and then proceeded to raid Maryland, Pennsylvania, and D.C. Then during the autumn, Union General Philip Sheridan was sent to drive Early from the valley and once-and-for-all deny its use to the Confederates by putting it to the torch using scorched-earth tactics. The valley, especially in the lower northern section, was also the scene of bitter partisan (military), partisan fighting as the region's inhabitants were deeply divided over loyalties, and Confederate partisan John S. Mosby, John Mosby and his 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, Rangers frequently operated in the area.
20th century
A series of newspaper mergers, ending in 1914, established the Daily News-Record of Harrisonburg as the daily newspaper of the Shenandoah Valley.
In the late 20th century, the valley's vineyards began to reach maturity. They constituted the new industry of the Shenandoah Valley AVA, Shenandoah Valley American Viticultural Area.
21st century
In 2018, a series of 2018 Cargill strike, strikes and protests were held in Dayton, Virginia, Dayton's Cargill plant.
Transportation
Transportation in the Shenandoah Valley consists mainly of road and rail and contains several metropolitan area transit authorities. The main north-south road transportation is Interstate 81, which parallels the old Valley Turnpike (
U.S. Route 11) and the ancient Great Path of the Native Americans through its course in the valley. In the lower (northern) valley, on the eastern side, U.S. Route 340 in Virginia, U.S. Route 340 also runs north-south, starting from
Waynesboro in the south, running through the
Page Valley
The Page Valley is a small valley geographically and culturally associated with the Shenandoah Valley. The valley is located between the Massanutten and Blue Ridge mountain ranges in western Virginia.
Geography
The valley is approximately lo ...
to Front Royal, Virginia, Front Royal, and on to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where it exits the valley into Maryland. Major east-west roads cross the valley as well, providing access to the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont and the Allegheny Mountains. Starting from the north, these routes include U.S. Route 50 in Virginia, U.S. Route 50, U.S. Route 522 in Virginia, U.S. Route 522, Interstate 66#Virginia, Interstate 66, U.S. Route 33 in Virginia, U.S. Route 33, U.S. Route 250 in Virginia, U.S. Route 250, Interstate 64 in Virginia, Interstate 64, and U.S. Route 60 in Virginia, U.S. Route 60.
CSX Transportation operates several rail lines through the valley, including the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the old Manassas Gap Railroad and the old Virginia Central Railroad. There are also more modern lines that run the length of the valley parallel to the Valley Pike and U.S. 340. The rail lines are primarily used for freight transportation, though MARC Train, Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) trains utilize the old B&O line from stations in Martinsburg, West Virginia, Martinsburg, Duffields, West Virginia, Duffields, and Harper's Ferry to Washington Union Station (Washington, D.C.), Union Station and vice versa.
Several localities in the valley operate public transportation systems, includin
Front Royal Area Transit(FRAT), which provides weekday transit for the town of Front Royal
providing weekday transit for the town of Luray, Virginia, Luray and weekday service between Luray and Front Royal; an
Winchester Transit which provides weekday transit for the city of
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
. In addition
Shenandoah Valley Commuter Bus Serviceoffers weekday commuter bus service from the northern Shenandoah Valley, including Shenandoah County, Virginia, Shenandoah County and Warren County, Virginia, Warren County, to Northern Virginia (Arlington County, Virginia, Arlington County and Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County) and Washington, D.C., Washington. Origination points in Shenandoah County include Woodstock, Virginia, Woodstock. Origination points in Warren County include Front Royal, Virginia, Front Royal and Linden, Virginia, Linden.
In popular culture
The Shenandoah Valley serves as the setting for the Shenandoah (film), 1965 film ''Shenandoah'' and its Shenandoah (musical), 1974 musical adaptation. Both stories follow the Anderson family during the Civil War. An associated song by James Stewart titled "The Legend of Shenandoah" was a very minor hit in 1965, reaching #133 on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart. One of the most famous cultural references to the area does not mention the valley itself: West Virginia's state song, "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver, simply contains the words "
Shenandoah River" in the first verse.
See also
*Blue Ridge Community and Technical College
*Bridgewater College
*Christendom College
*Eastern Mennonite University
*Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia
*George Washington National Forest
*Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
*James Madison University
*
Luray Caverns
Luray Caverns, originally called Luray Cave, is a cave just west of Luray, Virginia, United States, which has drawn many visitors since its discovery in 1878. The cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems such as columns, mud flows, s ...
*Mary Baldwin University
*Museum of the Shenandoah Valley
*Natural Bridge (Virginia)
*Polyface Farm
*Shenandoah National Park
*Shenandoah University
*Shenandoah Valley Academy
*Shepherd University
*Southern Virginia University
*Valley Baseball League
*Virginia Military Institute
*Washington and Lee University
References
External links
Shenandoah Valley - Official state tourism websiteVisit Shenandoah websiteShenandoah Valley Technology CouncilShenandoah at War, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields FoundationCivilWarTraveler.com - Virginia's Valley and MountainsValley Conservation Council*
"The Shenandoah Valley" ''Southern Spaces'', 20 April 2004
Virginia Historical Society article "Featuring 52 masterful landscape paintings by Washington, D.C. based artist Andrei Kushnir, Oh, Shenandoah: Landscapes of Diversity explores the extraordinary beauty of the Shenandoah Valley region and the diverse history of its settlement."The article and exhibition were based on the artist's published book, Oh, Shenandoah, Paintings of the Historic Valley and River by Andrei Kushnir
{{Coord, 38, 30, N, 78, 51, W, display=title
Valleys of Virginia
Valleys of West Virginia
Virginia wine
Regions of Virginia
Regions of West Virginia
Shenandoah River
Landforms of Frederick County, Virginia
Landforms of Clarke County, Virginia
Landforms of Warren County, Virginia
Landforms of Shenandoah County, Virginia
Landforms of Page County, Virginia
Landforms of Rockingham County, Virginia
Landforms of Augusta County, Virginia
Landforms of Rockbridge County, Virginia
Landforms of Berkeley County, West Virginia
Landforms of Jefferson County, West Virginia
Western Virginia