Strasburg, Virginia
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Strasburg is a town in
Shenandoah County Shenandoah County (formerly Dunmore County) is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 44,186. Its county seat is Woodstock. It is part of the Shenandoah Valley region of Virgin ...
,
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 ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, which was founded in 1761 by Peter Stover. It is the largest town by population in the county and is known for its grassroots art culture, pottery, antiques, and
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 ...
history. The population was 6,398 at the 2010 census.


History


Early settlers

German-speaking
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, ...
ns were among the first non-native settlers to arrive in the northern
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- ...
and Strasburg area. The luscious greenery and fertile land were prime targets for immigrant farmers. On August 21, 1734 speculator Henry Willis was granted total of this land by William Gooch, Virginia's
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
and Commander in Chief. Gooch wished to settle the valley to create a buffer between Native American tribes and the rest of the Virginia colony. During the summer of 1735, Willis sold his entire property to Jacob Funk. Jacob in return, partitioned his new purchase, reselling a part of it to his brother John. In contrast to the English culture found east of the Blue Ridge, Strasburg was settled with family farms and towns rather than plantations; few slaves; and Germanic language, religions, architecture and decorative arts. The thriving agricultural community that developed in the fertile bottomland along the banks of the Shenandoah River boasted scenic views of the Massanutten and Allegheny Mountains. Later nicknamed “Pot Town,” Strasburg also became a center for the production of both utilitarian and fancy earthenware and stoneware pottery. During the 19th and 20th centuries, many residents worked for the railroad industry and at limestone quarries; after WW II, other industries came to Strasburg, including paper and auto parts manufacture. Today Strasburg boasts a growing service economy, museums, eateries, numerous antique stores and other shops.


Founder

Peter Stover (Petrus Stauffer) is considered the founder of the town of Strasburg. Stover was born in 1715 to a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
-
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father, Christian Stauffer I., in
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, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Stauffer took his family to America in 1718, to gain religious freedom, and settled in
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 73rd-most populous county in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 856,55 ...
where he would live out his entire life. His son Peter migrated south to Virginia by 1730 and to the Shenandoah Valley as early as 1739. On May 2, 1749 Stover purchased of land from Jacob Funk, his future father-in-law. The purchase was divided into smaller plots for sale to other settlers and a village was informally established. Stover applied for a town charter in November 1761 giving the town the official name of Strasburg.William Waller Hening, editor, ''The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of all the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature in the year 1619'', 13 vols. (Richmond: Franklin Press, 1820), vol. VII, page pp. 473-476, Chapter VII, "An Act for establishing the towns of Staunton, in the county of Augusta, and New London in the county of Bedford, and Strasburg in the county of Frederick," November 1761, digital images, ''Google Books'' (http://google.com/books : 26 November 2014). The name was taken from
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
, the capital of
Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
, France. Some called the area Staufferstadt, the German name for Stoverstown. Ten
trustees Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...
were named; William Miller, Matthew Harrison, Jacob Bowman, Valentine Smith, Charles Buck, Peter Stover, Isaac Hite, Leonard Baltice, John Funk, and Philip Huffman (Hoffman). Peter eventually married Frainey Funk, before he died August 13, 1799 at the age of 84. He was survived by eight children. Being a philanthropist for most of his life, Stover's will left land and $10,000 to the community to establish schools. A monument resides in Strasburg's Riverview Cemetery honoring Peter Stover, but the whereabouts of his grave is unknown.


Recent growth

Strasburg has experienced rapid growth in recent time, mainly along its northern corridor, due to
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, Na ...
being located approximately 80 miles away.


Geography

Strasburg is located at (38.990550, −78.358615) in the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley. The area is surrounded by the natural boundaries of the Massanutten 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 ...
, as well as the
Shenandoah River The Shenandoah River is the principal tributary of the Potomac River, long with two forks approximately long each,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 in t ...
.
Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park became the 388th unit of the United States National Park Service when it was authorized on December 19, 2002. The National Historical Park was created to protect several historically significa ...
is located in and around Strasburg. 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 town has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.2 km2), of which, 3.2 square miles (8.2 km2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km2) of it (0.63%) is water. The elevation of the area is .


Climate

Strasburg 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° ...
(Cfa), with cool winters and hot, humid summers. The average low in January, the coldest month, is 20F. The average high in July, the hottest month, is 85F. Average annual snowfall is 26 inches, while average annual precipitation totals 39.6 inches.


Culture


Museums

The most heralded museum in Strasburg is the Strasburg Museum. The building was once home to the Strasburg Stone and Earthenware Manufacturing Company and later was converted to a Southern Railway depot. It operated in this manner until the early 1960s. In 1970 it opened as a museum. The now closed Stonewall Jackson Museum at Hupp's Hill was redeveloped by the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation and reopened on May 7, 2011 as the Hupp’s Hill Cedar Creek Museum at Hupp's Hill Civil War Park. A nearby cave called Crystal Caverns at Hupp's Hill was open for tourism from 1922 to 2010. The newest museum is the Shenandoah Museum of Contemporary Art (ShenMOCA) across from the Strasburg Museum.


Public art

Strasburg is home to the nonprofit organization, Staufferstadt Arts, which facilities the installation of contemporary murals within downtown. Thus far eight murals have been placed by well known street artists Gilf!, Alice Mizrachi, NDA, and Over Under. ShenMOCA (Shenandoah Museum of Contemporary Art) now resides in Strasburg, as well. The historic post office in Strasburg contains a New Deal
WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing * Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance An ...
mural titled ''Apple Orchard''. Muralist Sarah Jane Blakeslee completed the work in 1938, having won a commission by the United States Treasury Section of Fine Arts.


Sports teams

In June 2011, Strasburg welcomed a
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 ...
team, the Strasburg Express. Strasburg High School's sports team mascot is called the "Rams". The school has teams in Football, Boys Golf, Girls Volleyball, Boys and Girls Cross Country in the fall, Boys & Girls Basketball, Boys & Girls Swim team, Wrestling in the winter, and Boys & Girls Track and Field, Boys & Girls Soccer, Boys baseball and Girls Softball in the spring. Cheerleading is a sport that continues all through the school year. The Boys Cross Country has won state championships in 1982, 1986, and 1992, and the Girls Cross Country has won state championships in 1990, 1992 and 1993. The Wrestling team has won state championships in 1980, 1987, 1997 and 2000. The Girls Volleyball team has won a state championship in 2007. The Girls Track & Field team has won state championships in 1992 & 1993. The boys baseball team won a state championship in 2007. The Cheerleading team has won state championships in 2001, 2008 & 2010.


Tourism

Strasburg has focused on both community engagement as well as economic development and tourism in recent years. The Town of Strasburg hosts over 30 events a year, including a 12-week music series in the summer months. Some of the most popular events are the Grilled Cheese + Tomato Soup Festival, selling out at 1,000 tickets. The Fish Fry Float for Father's Day is a free event with river kayaking and environmental education. Vintage in the Valley Festival occurring on the first weekend in April boasts over 200 artisans, a vintage fashion show and car show, and local musicians. Other events include: Strasburg Film Festival, Seasonal Film Series, Cupid's Market, Shamrock Social, Pints for Paws, Sip & Snack Mural Tour, Hot Cocoa Concoctions, and the Harvest Festival, among others. The Strasburg Chamber of Commerce holds two additional festivals each year: Mayfest and Oktoberfest. Popular destinations include Sugar Creek Snowy and Sweet Ice Cream Shop and the Box Office Brewery. In addition, Old Dominion Doggery and Burger Shoppe offers premium hot dogs and hamburgers with over 50 toppings. Other popular destinations include the Strasburg Flea market which features The Best on the Block collectors market, the Strasburg Antique Emporium, with 90 vendors and over 1,000,000 item, the Strasburg Museum, Clementine Vintage, and Vilnis' Antiques. Strasburg offers overnight accommodations at Hotel Strasburg, housed in a Victorian building dating to 1902. The building was once used as a private hospital. Local legend says the hotel is haunted. The hotel includes an English pub, The Depot Lounge. Lodging can also be found on Main Street at the Holliday House, along with more modern accommodations at the Marriott. The Cedar Creek Battlefield and Belle Grove, Hupp House, Strasburg Historic District, Strasburg Museum, Mount Pleasant, and Stoner-Keller House and Mill are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.


Demographics

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 4,017 people, 1,773 households, and 1,086 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,275.5 people per square mile (492.4/km2). There were 1,877 housing units at an average density of 596.0 per square mile (230.1/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 93.63%
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 ...
, 4.48%
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 ...
, 0.05% Native American, 0.40%
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, 0.05%
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 ...
, 0.45% from
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, and 0.95% 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 ...
or
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of any race were 1.42% of the population. There were 1,773 households, out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% 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, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.7% were non-families. 33.1% 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 2.27 and the average family size was 2.87. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males. The
median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...
for a household in the town was $32,724, and the median income for a family was $40,978. Males had a median income of $29,750 versus $21,755 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 town was $17,697. About 5.3% of families and 9.7% 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 11.7% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.


Education

Students living in the northern third of Shenandoah County attend one of three public schools located near Strasburg.
Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...
through fifth grade students attend Sandy Hook Elementary School, while sixth through eighth graders attend Signal Knob Middle School. Located within the town limits, Strasburg High School serves ninth through twelfth graders. The schools are administered by the Shenandoah County Public School system, which is located in
Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
, and the Virginia Department of Education, which is located in
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, ...
.


Transportation

Strasburg is directly served by two primary highways, U.S. Route 11 and
Virginia State Route 55 State Route 55 (SR 55) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known for most of its length as John Marshall Highway, the state highway runs from the West Virginia state line, where the highway continues as West Virginia Route ...
. US 11 extends north and south, serving primarily as a local service road for nearby
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 ...
. SR 55 extends east and west, also serving primarily as a local service road for nearby
Interstate 66 Interstate 66 (I-66) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It runs from an interchange with I-81 near Middletown, Virginia, on its western end to an interchange with U.S. Route 29 (US 29) in Washingt ...
from Strasburg on east. West of Strasburg, SR 55 is concurrent with U.S. Route 48, which extends into eastern
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 ...
. Both US 11 and SR 55 have interchanges with I-81 on the northeastern and northwestern edges of the town, respectively. I-81 extends northwards to the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, western Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York state, and southwards to Tennessee. It also interchanges with the start of
I-66 Interstate 66 (I-66) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It runs from an interchange with I-81 near Middletown, Virginia, on its western end to an interchange with U.S. Route 29 (US 29) in Washing ...
just northeast of Strasburg, which extends eastward to
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, ...
The western extension of
Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
's B-Line runs through Strasburg, though that section of the line usually only sees one short local train—ranging from once a week to once a day—which stops at the R.R. Donnelley plant in the town. South of its interchange with
CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
at Strasburg Junction, the line is completely dormant. The CSX line also receives only sporadic local traffic.


Notable people

*
Danni Leigh Michelle Sheetz (born February 9, 1970), better known as Danni Leigh, is an American country music singer. At age 19, she relocated to Orlando, Florida, intending to audition as a singer at Disney World, but ended up moving to Nashville, Tenness ...
(musician)


References


External links


Hometown Strasburg

Strasburg Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control German-American culture in Virginia Towns in Shenandoah County, Virginia Populated places established in 1761 Swiss-American culture in Virginia 1761 establishments in Virginia Towns in Virginia