Staunton ( ) is an

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

in the U.S. Commonwealth of

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities are separate jurisdictions from the counties that surround them, so the government offices of

Augusta County Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and Waynesboro. Its county ...

are in

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

, which is contiguous to Staunton. Staunton is a principal city of the Staunton- Waynesboro

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

, which had a 2010 population of 118,502. Staunton is known for being the birthplace of

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

, the 28th

U.S. president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

, and as the home of

Mary Baldwin University Mary Baldwin University (MBU, formerly Mary Baldwin College) is a private university in Staunton, Virginia. It was founded in 1842 as Augusta Female Seminary. Today, Mary Baldwin University is home to the Mary Baldwin College for Women, a resid ...

, historically a women's college. The city is also home to Stuart Hall, a private co-ed preparatory school, as well as the

Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind The Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, located in Staunton, Virginia, United States, is an institution for educating deaf and blind children, first established in 1839 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly. The school accepts child ...

. It was the first city in the United States with a fully defined city manager system.

History

The area was first settled in 1732 by John Lewis and family. In 1736,

William Beverley William Beverley (1696–1756) was an 18th-century legislator, civil servant, planter and landowner in the Colony of Virginia. Born in Virginia, Beverley—the son of planter and historian Robert Beverley, Jr. (c. 1667–1722) and his wife, Ursul ...

, a wealthy planter and

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

from Essex County, was granted by the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

over in what would become Augusta County.

Surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

Thomas Lewis in 1746 laid out the first town

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

for Beverley of what was originally called Beverley's Mill Place. Founded in 1747, it was renamed in honor of Lady Rebecca Staunton, wife to Royal Lieutenant-Governor

Sir William Gooch Sir William Gooch, 1st Baronet (21 October 1681 – 17 December 1751) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Virginia from 1727 to 1749. Technically, Gooch only held the title of Royal Lieutenant Gove ...

. Because the town was located at the geographical center of the colony (which then included

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

), Staunton served between 1738 and 1771 as regional capital for much of what was later known as the Northwest Territory, with the westernmost

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...

prior to the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

. By 1760, Staunton was one of the major "remote trading centers in the backcountry" which coordinated the transportation of the vast amounts of grain and tobacco then being produced in response to the change of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

from a net exporter of produce to an importer. Staunton thus played a crucial role in the mid 18th century expansion of the economies of the

American Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centur ...

which, in turn, contributed to the success of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. It served as capital of Virginia in June 1781, when state

legislators A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

fled

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and then

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

to avoid capture by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. Like most of colonial Virginia,

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

was present in Staunton. For instance, in 1815, a slave named Henry ran away from John G. Wright's Staunton plantation. Wright placed an ad in the

Daily National Intelligencer The ''National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser'' was a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., from October 30, 1800 until 1870. It was the first newspaper published in the District, which was founded in 1790. It was originally a Tri- ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

seeking Henry's return. It notes that Henry was an excellent cook and was widely travelled, having been as far as the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

The Civil War and immediately prior

In August 1855, President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

visited Staunton. He gave a speech at the

Virginia Hotel The Virginia Hotel was built in 1847 in Staunton, Virginia, and quickly became known as one of the finest hostelries in the commonwealth. Built on the site of the old Washington Tavern, the northeast corner of Greenville Avenue at New Street, th ...

, in which he stated that his "feelings revolted from the idea of a dissolution of the union." He said that " would be the Iliad of innumerable woes, from the contemplation of which he shrank." Located along 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 Del ...

, Staunton developed as a

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

, transportation and industrial center, particularly after the

Virginia Central Railroad The Virginia Central Railroad was an early railroad in the U.S. state of Virginia that operated between 1850 and 1868 from Richmond westward for to Covington. Chartered in 1836 as the Louisa Railroad by the Virginia General Assembly, the railr ...

arrived in 1854.

Factories A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

made

carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

wagon A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...

s and

shoes A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

and

blanket A blanket is a swath of soft cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold most of the user's body and thick enough to keep the body warm by trapping radiant body heat that otherwise would be lost through convection. Etymology The term ...

s. In 1860, the

Staunton Military Academy Staunton Military Academy was a private all-male military school located in Staunton, Virginia. Founded in 1884, the academy closed in 1976. The school was highly regarded for its academic and military programs, and many notable American political ...

was founded. By 1860, Staunton had at least one pro-Union, pro-slavery (the '' Staunton Spectator'') and at least one pro-secession, pro-slavery newspaper (the '' Staunton Vindicator''). The ''Spectator'' ran editorials before the war urging its citizens to vote for union, while the ''Vindicator'' ran, e.g., stories reporting on "unruly" slaves mutilating themselves to escape being sold. On May 23, 1861, shortly after the firing on Fort Sumter began the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Virginians voted on whether to ratify articles of secession from the Union and join the

Confederate States The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. The articles were overwhelmingly approved throughout the Commonwealth, even in the majority of the counties that would later become West Virginia. The vote in Staunton was 3300 in favor of secession, with only 6 opposed. During the war, the town became an important

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

manufacturing center, a staging area, and a supply depot for the Confederacy. On June 6, 1864,

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Major General

David Hunter David Hunter (July 21, 1802 – February 2, 1886) was an American military officer. He served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He achieved notability for his unauthorized 1862 order (immediately rescinded) emancipating slaves ...

arrived with 10,000 troops to cut supply, communication and railway lines useful to the Confederacy. The next day, they destroyed the railroad station,

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

s, houses, factories and mills. Union soldiers

looted Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

the stores and warehouses and confiscated supplies.

Post-bellum Staunton

On July 10, 1902, Staunton became an independent city. Entrance Stuart-Robertson House Staunton

In 1908, Staunton adopted the

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...

form of government. Charles E. Ashburner was hired by Staunton as the nation's first city manager.

Western State Hospital

Staunton is also home to the former Western State Asylum, a hospital for the mentally ill, which originally began operations in 1828. The hospital was renamed Western State Hospital in 1894. In its early days, the facility was a resort-style asylum. It had terraced gardens where patients could plant flowers and take walks, roof walks to provide mountain views, and many architectural details to create an atmosphere that would aid in the healing process. However, by the mid 19th Century, this utopian model of care had vanished, replaced by overcrowding in the facility and the warehousing of patients. Techniques such as "ankle and wrist restraints, physical coercion, and straitjackets" were used. After the passage of the Eugenical Sterilization Act of 1924 in Virginia, patients were forcibly sterilized at Western State until the law authorizing the practice was repealed in the 1970s. Later,

electroshock therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroconvulsive th ...

and

lobotomies A lobotomy, or leucotomy, is a form of neurosurgical treatment for psychiatric disorder or neurological disorder (e.g. epilepsy) that involves severing connections in the brain's prefrontal cortex. The surgery causes most of the connections to ...

were practiced at the facility. When Western State vacated the property and moved its adult patients to its present site near Interstate 81, the facility was renamed the Staunton Correctional Center and turned into a medium-security men's penitentiary. The prison closed in 2003, and the site was left vacant for several years. In 2005, the state of Virginia gave the original property to the Staunton Industrial Authority. It is now a condominium complex called The Villages at Staunton. A separate complex, The DeJarnette State Sanatoruim, was constructed in 1932 and acted as a location for patients with the ability to pay for their treatment

Dr. DeJarnette was the superintendent of the sanatorium from its opening until his retirement in 1947.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , virtually all of which is land. Staunton is located in the

in between the Blue Ridge and

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. It is drained by Lewis Creek. Lewis Creek flows into the Shenandoah River, which flows into the Potomac, and eventually to the Chesapeake Bay.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Staunton has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Governance

Staunton operates under a council-manager form of government. In 1908, Staunton was the first city in the United States to give an appointed employee authority over city affairs through statute. In 1912,

Sumter, South Carolina Sumter ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. Known as the Sumter Metropolitan Statistical Area, the namesake county adjoins Clarendon and Lee to form the core of Sumter-Lee-Clarendon Tri-county (o ...

, was the first U.S. city to implement the council-manager form of city government. The city of Staunton refers to itself on its website as the "birthplace of President Woodrow Wilson, and the city manager form of government." Staunton is part of

Virginia's 6th congressional district Virginia's sixth congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It covers much of the west-central portion of the state, including Roanoke, Lynchburg and most of the Shenandoah Valley. The ...

Sister cities

Vişeu de Sus, Romania. Dabas, Hungary.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2000 Census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 23,853 people, 9,676 households, and 5,766 families residing in Staunton. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 1,210.3 people per square mile (467.3/km²). There were 10,427 housing units at an average density of 529.1 per square mile (204.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.29%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 13.95%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.46%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.52% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.55% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 1.11% of the population. There were 9,676 households, out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.81. In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.8% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,941, and the median income for a family was $44,422. Males had a median income of $30,153 versus $22,079 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $19,161. About 7.7% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 15.9% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Top employers

According to Staunton's 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Culture

Coffee on the Corner building, Staunton, Virginia

Staunton is home to the

American Shakespeare Center The American Shakespeare Center (ASC) is a regional theatre company located in Staunton, Virginia, that focuses on the plays of William Shakespeare; his contemporaries Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher, Christopher Marlowe; and works related t ...

, a theatrical company centered at the Blackfriars Playhouse, a replica of

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Blackfriars Theatre Blackfriars Theatre was the name given to two separate theatres located in the former Blackfriars Dominican priory in the City of London during the Renaissance. The first theatre began as a venue for the Children of the Chapel Royal, child acto ...

. In 2012, it also became the home of th
Heifetz International Music Institute
named for renowned violinist

Daniel Heifetz Daniel Alan Heifetz (born November 20, 1948) is an American concert violinist and pedagogue best known as the Founder of the Heifetz International Music Institute. His career has been focused on education and the art of communication through perf ...

, a summer music school and festival dedicated to the artistic growth and career development of some of the World's most talented and promising classical musicians. The

Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum is a complex located in Staunton, Virginia. It contains the President's birthplace, known as the Manse, a Museum that explores the life and times of Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924), a Research Libr ...

is open for visitors, as well as the Museum of American Frontier Culture, which provides insight into life in early America. The Staunton Music Festival – which celebrated its 20th year in 2017 – features multiple concerts each day, with programs of music from the Renaissance to the present. The festival takes place during the early part of August annually. All performances take place at historic venues in downtown Staunton. The Queen City Mischief and Magic festival - which celebrated its 4th year in 2019 - is a new but quickly-growing festival for Harry Potter fans, attracting over 10,000 people in its 3rd year. Visitors from all over the east coast come to take part in games, events, and shopping throughout downtown. Businesses contribute the activities for the festival and the majority of West Beverly St is shut down for the weekend event. Staunton is also the center of numerous galleries and art schools, the widely regarded Beverley Street Studio School and its associated Co-Art Gallery. In addition, Staunton is home to the Hypnagogia Film Collective, a collection of avant-garde experimental filmmakers. Staunton is home to the

Statler Brothers The Statler Brothers (sometimes simply referred to as The Statlers) were an American country music, gospel, and vocal group. The quartet was formed in 1955 performing locally, and from 1964 to 1972, they sang as opening act and backup singers fo ...

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

legends who until 1994 performed free concerts at the annual

Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

celebration, accompanied by other country music artists. Statler Brothers members Don Reid,

Harold Reid Harold may refer to: People * Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Harold (surname), surname in the English language * András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold" Art ...

, and

Phil Balsley Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root ter ...

grew up in the city.

Lew DeWitt Lewis “Lew” Calvin DeWitt Jr. (March 12, 1938 – August 15, 1990) was an American country music singer, guitarist, and composer. He was a founding member of The Statler Brothers and the group's original tenor. Biography For most of his care ...

was also a notable member of the Statlers who grew up in Staunton, VA.

Film

Downtown Staunton and Sherwood Avenue were used in the

film '' Gods and Generals''. The local Shenandoah Valley Railroad as well as a number of nearby houses were used in filming of '' Hearts in Atlantis''. In 1993, a portion of the Showtime production of '' Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker'' was filmed here. In the summer of 2006, some scenes for the movie ''

Evan Almighty ''Evan Almighty'' is a 2007 American comedy film, and a Spin-off (media), spin-off of ''Bruce Almighty'' (2003). The film was directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Steve Oedekerk, based on the characters created by Steve Koren and Mark O'Keefe (sc ...

'' were also filmed in Staunton. Some scenes for '' Familiar Strangers'' were also filmed in Staunton in 2007. In 2013, scenes from the documentary film '' Rita Dove: An American Poet'' were filmed in and around Staunton's

Temple House of Israel Temple House of Israel is a Jewish congregation in Staunton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1876 by Major Alexander Hart, it originally held services in members' homes, then moved to a building on Kalorama street in 1885, the year it joine ...

synagogue.

Attractions

Staunton is home to nearly 200 buildings designed by architect Thomas Jasper Collins (1844–1925), who worked in various styles during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. His firm, T. J. Collins & Sons, is still in business. The city was once home to about ten hotels, but only one of them is still in operation - Hotel 24 South. This hotel was renovated in the early 2000s, and is now in operation as both a hotel and a conference center. The Ingleside Resort is no longer in operation. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

it was used by the

INS INS or Ins or ''variant'', may refer to: Places * Ins, Switzerland, a municipality * Creech Air Force Base (IATA airport code INS) * Indonesia, ITF and UNDP code INS Biology *'' Ins'', a New World genus of bee flies * INS, the gene for the insul ...

as a

detention center A detention center, or detention centre, is any location used for detention. Specifically, it can mean: * A jail or prison, a facility in which inmates are forcibly confined and denied a variety of freedoms under the authority of the state as a ...

for

enemy aliens In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and ...

held under

Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. This order authorized the secretary of war to prescribe certain ...

. Some of the hotels that are no longer in operation are

The Virginia Hotel The Virginia Hotel was built in 1847 in Staunton, Virginia, and quickly became known as one of the finest hostelries in the commonwealth. Built on the site of the old Washington Tavern, the northeast corner of Greenville Avenue at New Street, th ...

, the Eakleton Hotel, the

Valley Hotel The Valley Hotel is a historic building that was constructed in Staunton, Virginia built around 1815. The Valley Hotel is located on Augusta Street across the street from a Baptist church (shown in picture). After it was a hotel, the building be ...

, the American Hotel and the Hotel Beverley. All of these buildings are still standing except for the Virginia Hotel, which was demolished in 1930 to make way for a planned addition to the Stonewall Jackson Hotel which was never built. The New Street Parking Garage now stands on the site.

National Register of Historic Places

Houses in Staunton on the National Register of Historic Places include: * '' The Oaks'', at 437 East Beverley Street. An 1840s structure, it was modified and enlarged in 1888 by famed Civil War cartographer

Jedediah Hotchkiss Jedediah Hotchkiss (November 30, 1828 – January 17, 1899), known most frequently as Jed, was a teacher and the most famous cartographer and topographer of the American Civil War. His detailed and accurate maps of the Shenandoah Valley are c ...

. * '' Waverly Hill'', a Georgian-revival house designed in 1929 by renowned architect William Bottomley with a landscape designed by Arthur Shurcliff. * '' Sears House'', a 'bracketed cottage' frame house built around 1860.

Parks and recreation

* Betsy Bell and Mary Gray Wilderness Parks — a mountaintop park with a observation platform *

Gypsy Hill Park Gypsy Hill Park is a recreational park situated in the center of Staunton, Virginia, United States, where Churchville Avenue (off of route 250) and Thornrose Avenue intersect. The park contains various public services and attractions, including foo ...

— a multi-use facility with a golf course, football and baseball stadiums, gymnasium, lake, two playgrounds, three youth baseball fields, public swimming pool, volleyball court, horseshoe pits, tennis courts, the Gypsy Express mini-train, the Duck Pond, a skatepark, a bandstand, and several pavilions. Until the Staunton city parks were integrated, Gypsy Hill Park was only open to whites except for one day a year, which was set aside for other races to use the park. * Montgomery Hall Park — a multi-use facility with softball and soccer fields, tennis courts, disc golf course, playgrounds, picnic shelters, hiking and mountain biking trails, and a swimming pool (which was renovated in 2016 after being closed since 2010.) The offices of the Department of Parks and Recreation are at the Irene Givens Administration building, which also includes a kitchen, activity room, and conference room which are available for public use. Montgomery Hall Park was opened in 1950 after much agitation by non-white residents of Staunton. Before segregation ended in the mid-1960s, Montgomery Hall park was the only park in the city open to African-Americans * Booker T. Washington Community Center — formerly the segregated Booker T. Washington High School, although according to the court which decided Bell v. Staunton Board of Education, the term "high school" was a misnomer, as the school also contained "first, second, and seventh grade classes and two special mentally retarded classes as well as the eighth through the twelfth grades." * Nelson Street Teen Center — closed () due to budget cuts. *Landes Park - a small, one-acre park names after Walter James Landes, Jr. in 1993. Near downtown Staunton. *Reservoir Hill Park - a small four acres park located at the old city reservoir. *Men's Green Thumb Park - approximately two acres and was created through a joint sponsorship by the Men's Green Thumb Garden Club and United Virginia Bank National Valley, 1960–1970. *Knowles Park - Knowles Park is a small parcel of land directly across from the main entrance of Gypsy Hill Park. *Woodrow Park (Sears Hill) - approximately five acres and is located in the Sears Hill District of Staunton. The park was named in honor of President Woodrow Wilson and features a scenic overlook of historic downtown Staunton.

Sports

In 1894, Staunton fielded a baseball team in the original

Virginia League The Virginia League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in Virginia and North Carolina from 1906 to 1928. It was classified as a "C" league from 1906 to 1919 and as a "B" league from 1920 to 1928. The most famous alumni to c ...

: The Staunton Hayseeds. In 1914, the city fielded a team in the

Virginia Mountain League The Virginia Mountain League was a minor league baseball organization active in central western Virginia in 1914. The Class D (baseball), Class D level league folded during its only season of play. History On March 3, 1914, at a meeting in Lynchb ...

: The Staunton Lunatics. The Lunatics moved to Harrisonburg in July 1914, just before the league disbanded. From 1939 to 1942, the city fielded a team in the second

: the Staunton Presidents. Staunton currently has no minor league baseball, but the

Staunton Braves The Staunton Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team in Staunton, Virginia. They play in the southern division of the Valley Baseball League. They have won the pennant in 1993–1995, 1997–2000, 2003, and 2015, ranking as high as the 7th ...

represent the city in the

Valley Baseball League The Valley Baseball League is an NCAA and MLB-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball league in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. The league was started in 1923 and sanctioned by the NCAA in 1961. It has been a wooden bat league since 1993 ...

, a

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

league that plays in the Shenandoah Valley.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads and highways

The main highways through Staunton include

U.S. Route 11 {{Infobox road , country=USA , type=US , route=11 , map={{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, frame-height=330, type=line, from=U.S. Route 11.map , map_custom=yes , map_notes=US 11 in red, US 11E in blue, US 11W in ...

, U.S. Route 11 Business,

U.S. Route 250 U.S. Route 250 (US 250) is a route of the United States Numbered Highway System, and is a spur of U.S. Route 50. It currently runs for from Richmond, Virginia to Sandusky, Ohio. It passes through the states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio. ...

Virginia State Route 252 State Route 252 (SR 252) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from SR 39 near Rockbridge Baths north to U.S. Route 250, US 11 Business, and SR 254 in Staunton. SR 252 passes through rural areas o ...

Virginia State Route 254 State Route 254 (SR 254) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from SR 42 near Buffalo Gap east to U.S. Route 340 (US 340) in Waynesboro. SR 254 provides a northerly alternate route to US 250 between ...

Virginia State Route 261 State Route 261 (SR 261) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as Statler Boulevard, the state highway runs from U.S. Route 11 (US 11) north to Coalter Street within the independent city of Staunton. SR 261 is an unsig ...

and

Virginia State Route 262 State Route 262 (SR 262) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as Woodrow Wilson Parkway or the Staunton Beltway, the state highway runs from Interstate 64 (I-64) and I-81 near Jolivue west, north, and east in a clockwi ...

. U.S. Route 11 and U.S. Route 250 are the most prominent roads passing directly through Staunton, with US 11 following a northeast to southwest alignment (but signed north–south), and US 250 following a northwest to southeast alignment (but signed east–west). US 11 Business follows a slower route through downtown compared to the main US 11 routing which passes just outside downtown. State Routes 252 and 254 are minor roads leading to nearby rural areas of adjacent Augusta County. State Route 261 provides a better route for trucks following US 11 and US 250 through the city. State Route 262 forms a limited access beltway around the outskirts of Staunton.

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange w ...

and

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 Island ...

both pass just outside the city limits and provide the main high-speed, high-volume roads to the Staunton region.

Public transportation

Staunton is served by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's ''

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

''. The train station, which is located downtown, is the closest station to the nearby cities of Harrisonburg and Lexington. The

Buckingham Branch Buckingham Branch Railroad is a Class III short-line railroad operating over 275 miles (443 km) of historic and strategic trackage in Central Virginia. Sharing overhead traffic with CSX and Amtrak, the company's headquarters are in Dillw ...

also has a small railyard. Staunton had a municipal bus system during the 20th century, known as the Staunton Transit Service, but it was dissolved in 1989. In 1944,

veteran S. Melvin Johnson wrote to

Truman Gibson Truman Kella Gibson, Jr. (January 22, 1912 – December 23, 2005) was an African-American businessman, attorney, government advisor, and later influential boxing promoter who played a unique and unheralded role in the Civil Rights Movement, pr ...

, assistant to

William H. Hastie William Henry Hastie Jr. (November 17, 1904 – April 14, 1976) was an American lawyer, judge, educator, public official, and civil rights advocate. He was the first African American to serve as Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, as a ...

, advisor to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, regarding segregated seating on the Staunton Transit Service and stating that returning African-American soldiers would not stand for such conditions. This letter was an indication of the role that African-American veterans would later play in the American civil rights movement. In 1946, after the United States Supreme Court decision ''Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia'', which found that Virginia's segregated seating law was unconstitutional with respect to interstate bus routes, Ethel New, a black woman from Lynch, Kentucky, was arrested for violating the law because she had purchased an intrastate ticket. New suffered a miscarriage subsequent to her arrest and sued Greyhound Lines and the arresting officer in Staunton. In September 1947, meeting in Staunton, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the all-white jury's verdict exonerating both the bus line and the officer. Blue Ridge Intercity Transit Express (BRITE) provides fixed-route transit bus service in Staunton on three routes: the Downtown Trolley, West Route, and North Route. The Coordinated Area Transportation Services (CATS) operates a demand-response service throughout the Staunton area, as well as a fixed shuttle service between the downtown areas of Staunton and Waynesboro. Virginia Breeze provides intercity bus service between Blacksburg, Virginia, Blacksburg and Washington, D.C., Washington, with a stop in Staunton. The city is adjacent to the northernmost junction of I-81 and I-64.

forms a partial beltway around the city, and both U.S. Route 250 in Virginia, US 250 and U.S. Route 11 in Virginia, US 11 pass through the city. The nearest commercial airport is Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport in Weyers Cave, Virginia.

Healthcare

* Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents (formerly the DeJarnette Center after eugenicist Joseph DeJarnette) psychiatric facility * Western State Hospital (Virginia) psychiatric facility

Education

Staunton City Schools is the school district of the city. Black Virginians were largely barred from education until Reconstruction Era of the United States, Reconstruction. The first school in Staunton which allowed African-Americans to attend was established by the Freedmen's Bureau under the supervision of the commanding general of the occupying Union army in late 1865. Arrangements were made to bring in women from the North as teachers, and the jury rooms of the Augusta County Courthouse, located at 1 E. Johnson Street, were to be used as classrooms. The court protested this plan, however, and it is possible that another location was found. In 1964 the Staunton chapter of the NAACP threatened the city with a lawsuit if they did not immediately desegregate the public schools. The City School Board, headed by Thomas W. Dixon, declined to take further action, contending that the schools were already desegregated as ten black children had been allowed to attend previously all-white schools. Attorneys for the city of Staunton submitted a plan for the desegregation of its public schools in 1965 by eliminating all negro schools in time for the 1967–1968 school year, which was approved by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. However, the implementation of this plan was delayed to such an extent that a group of African-American parents brought suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia against the city. This case, ''Bell v. School Board of Staunton'', was decided on January 5, 1966, with the court stating that the delay was a violation of the rights of the students under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Fourteenth Amendment and ordering that the schools and their faculty be desegregated in time for the 1966–1967 school year. The Staunton city school district was one of 21 in Virginia which take elementary school students out of class for Bible lessons on a voluntary basis, a practice known as Weekday Religious Education. Although the U.S. Supreme Court ended taxpayer-funded religious education in 1948 in ''McCollum v. Board of Education'', four years later they opened the door to privately funded voluntary classes held during school hours but away from school premises in ''Zorach v. Clauson''. In 2005, a group of parents in Staunton asked the school board to halt the practice. The challenge was successful, and the Bible classes are no longer being taught as of April 2017.

Public

District schools: * T.C. McSwain Elementary School * A.R. Ware Elementary School * Bessie Weller Elementary School * Shelburne Middle School * Staunton High School * Dixon Educational Center (includes Genesis Alternative Education Program) State-operated: *

Private

* Stuart Hall School—preparatory school (boarding for coed, day school for coed) * Grace Christian School—Coed Christian School for Pre-K to 12th Grade * C. F. Richards Jr. Academy—coed Seventh-Day Adventist school *

—Private liberal arts college, formerly a women's college * Raw Learning — democratic / free school Former: *

Media

* ''The News Leader'', local newspaper. Owned by the Gannett Company. * WHSV-TV, WHSV. American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate in Harrisonburg. * WKDW-AM. Clear Channel Communications. * WQSV-LP. Community radio station.

Notable people

* Diana Adams, dancer * Charles W. Anderson, awarded the Medal of Honor * John Brown Baldwin, legislator * Mary Julia Baldwin, educator *

, Baritone singer for The Statler Brothers * Randolph C. Berkeley, Major general (United States), major general in the United States Marine Corps and a Medal of Honor recipient * Larry Boerner, baseball pitcher * Allen Caperton Braxton, segregationist and Staunton representative to the revanchist Virginia Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1902, state constitutional convention of 1902. * John Breckinridge (U.S. Attorney General), John Breckinridge, senator and attorney general * James Brown (Louisiana politician), James Brown, 1st Secretary of State of Kentucky, United States Senate, U.S. Senator from Louisiana, United States Ambassador to France, U.S. Minister to France. * Joseph Calhoun, congressman * William Christian (Virginia), William Christian, soldier and politician * Gertrude Harris Boatwright Claytor, poet * George M. Cochran, Virginia Supreme Court Justice * John E. Colhoun, senator and lawyer * Francis Collins (geneticist), Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health * Joseph DeJarnette, psychiatrist and eugenicist *

, Tenor singer for The Statler Brothers * Joseph W. Fifer, governor of Illinois * Dave Fultz, baseball center fielder * Armistead C. Gordon, author, professor of English at the University of Virginia * William Haines, film actor and interior designer * Wade H. Haislip, United States Army general * Emmett Hanger, politician * Kenton Harper, printer, soldier and politician * George Moffett Harrison, judge * Alexander Hart, Confederate States Army major * John N. Hendren, judge and treasurer of the Confederate States of America * Henry W. Holt, chief justice of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals * Thomas D. Howie, teacher and military officer * Alexander Humphreys, physician * Parry Wayne Humphreys, congressman * Carroll Knicely, editor and publisher * Shannon Lucas, drummer * Sampson Mathews, soldier and politician * Jerry Lee May, baseball catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals * Samuel Augustus Merritt, delegate and judge * James Coffield Mitchell, congressman * Samuel Morgan, businessman, builder and manufacturer * Ethel Moses, actress and dancer * Eustace Mullins, white supremacist, anti-semite, conspiracy theorist, author, and publisher of Revelation Books * Wilton Persons, chief assistant to Dwight D. Eisenhower and superintendent of Staunton Military Academy * Louise M. Powell, American nurse and educator who led the University of Minnesota University of Minnesota School of Nursing, School of Nursing, during its formative years. * Don Reid, lead singer and songwriter for The Statler Brothers *

, bass singer for The Statler Brothers * Reese Roper, lead singer for Five Iron Frenzy * Larry Sheets, baseball outfielder and designated hitter * John B. Stephenson, sociologist * Alexander Hugh Holmes Stuart, congressman, United States Secretary of the Interior, secretary of the interior, and chairman of the Committee of Nine * Jacob Swoope, politician * Malfourd W. Trumbo, politician and judge * A. J. Turner, teacher of music, first director of Stonewall Brigade Band * Thomas Wilson (Virginia politician), Thomas Wilson, congressman *

, 28th President of the United States * Larry Woodall, baseball catcher * Jacob Yost (Virginia congressman), Jacob Yost, congressman

References

External links

City of Staunton, Virginia

Staunton Public Library

Augusta County Historical Society & Museum

Staunton Performing Arts Center

Heifetz International Music Institute

Staunton Music Festival

Staunton During the Civil War in ''Encyclopedia Virginia''
* {{authority control Staunton, Virginia, County seats in Virginia Populated places established in 1747 1747 establishments in Virginia Cities in Virginia Western Virginia Augusta County, Virginia