Stuarts Draft is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) in
Augusta County
Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, United States.
It is part of the
Staunton–
Waynesboro Micropolitan Statistical Area and adjacent to the
South River. Its population was 12,142 as of the 2020 census.
Stuarts Draft has a history as an agricultural community, dating back to the 1730s.
Today, the community also includes a processing and manufacturing cluster that includes Hershey, Hollister Incorporated, McKee Foods, NIBCO, Regal Rexnord, Ply Gem - Cornerstone, and a Target Corporation Distribution Center.
As one writer notes, "A visitor to Stuarts Draft can see these imposing plants with cattle grazing in a nearby field..."
History
Before the arrival of European settlers, the area was the territory of the
Shawanee; none of their settlements are known to have existed in Stuarts Draft.
Two non-residents tribes were frequent visitors to the area: the
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
from the north and the
Catawba from the south.
When European settlers first moved into Augusta County in 1732, these three tribes were in the midst of a war.
As a result, armed war parties were a common sight in the white settlements.
In 1736,
William Beverly received a patent from Virginia's
Governor William Gooch for in what became Augusta County.
At the time, this was the "outermost limits of Virginia".
Beverly sold parcels of land to settlers, including property that is now in Stuarts Draft. One settler was Archibald Stuart, a Scotch Presbyterian, who arrived in the area in 1738.
Stuart settled about three miles east of
Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church which he helped found in 1744.
This property became known as the Pratt Farm and is located on what is now U.S. 340 near Northgate Avenue.
Other early settlers who purchased land from Beverly in what is now Stuarts Draft include Robert Alexander, James Bell, John Black, John Christian, John Colter, Samuel Davidson, William Long, Finley McClure, Joseph Mills, Robert Moffet, and James Patton.
These early settlers built houses and cleared the land for farming.
The most successful crops were hemp, corn, wheat, and flax which was mixed with wool to make
linsey-woolsey
Linsey-woolsey (less often, woolsey-linsey or in Scots, ) is a coarse twill or plain-woven fabric woven with a linen warp and a woollen weft. Similar fabrics woven with a cotton warp and woollen weft in Colonial America were also called linsey ...
clothes.
Farmers experimented with tobacco and cotton but found hemp the most successful cash crop, supplying raw material for naval rope.
Robert Stuart operated a chopping mill in Stuarts Draft.
In 1749, Archibald Stuart's son Thomas purchased a patent near the
South River.
The tract was bound by Robert Stuart's patent to the north, Samuel Davidson's patent to the south, John Black's patent to the west, and James Patton's patent to the east.
There, Thomas lived with his wife Elizabeth (née Moore) and their nine children.
The property had a small valley or cove, regionally called a draft.
There was fighting in Augusta County during the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
(1754–1763), smaller conflicts with Native Americans in 1764 and 1774, and minor skirmishes through 1794.
When Thomas Stuart died, his sons were not living nearby, and his widow left the patent or land grant, making it available for resale. The Stuart property was purchased by John Harper in 1800, with some parts being owned by Joseph McComb and Jacob Farror at a later date.
Before 1800, the roads to Stuarts Draft were poor, limiting travel to horseback or sleds rather than wheeled wagons.
The settlement did not have a post office until 1837.
The first post office was in the former Thomas Stuart cabin, a hewed-pine log structure then on the Harper property.
As a result, the name Stuarts Draft was chosen for the post office and the community. Later, the post office moved three miles west of town and was operated by postmaster James M. Hall.
In the 1850s, the Howardsville Turnpike was built through Stuarts Draft.
Funded by stock as a commercial venture, the turnpike allowed Stuarts Drafts' farmers to take their wheat and other goods by horse-drawn wagons to the trading post in
Howardsville, Virginia.
The trip took a week but yielded trade goods such as flour, sugar, and other staples.
Howardsville was located in
Albemarle County
Albemarle County is a United States county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Ch ...
on the
James River
The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
; from there, trade goods went to
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
by
barge
A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...
.
In 1856, Stuarts Draft's first doctor arrived; James M. Watson was a graduate of the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
's medical school in nearby Charlottesville.
Watson traveled on horseback to visit patients.
Other families moving to Stuarts Draft include Caldwell, Churchman, Forrer, Grass, Harnsberger, Hicks, Johnson, Kindig, Patterson, Prior, Van Lear, and Wilson.
During the Civil War, Stuarts Draft's residents provided supplies and men to the Confederate Army.
The community's first school was established before the Civil War in Barterbrook, four miles from Stuarts Draft.
This one-room schoolhouse was replaced by another schoolhouse behind today's Finley Memorial Presbyterian Church in Stuarts Draft.
The new school started with one room but later was expanded to five rooms as the number of students grew.
The post office moved back to town in 1881 when the
Shenandoah Valley Railroad was under construction.
The railroad began stopping in Stuarts Draft in 1882 and connected the town with
Roanoke and
Hagerstown.
The railroad brought growth and prosperity to the farming community, making it one of the wealthiest sections of August County.
A village or commercial area formed along the railroad track, expanding to about a mile south of the tracks.
A train depot was constructed in 1891 (and demolished in 1975).
By 1885, Charles H. Cohron opened C. H. Cohron's Store alongside the tracks, while Fox's Store was located on Howardsville Turnpike.
In 1886, the J. B. McChesney Store opened beside the railroad.
Cohron built the Stuarts Draft Mill along the railroad tracks in 1893, followed by a warehouse.
In 1891, the Shenandoah Valley Railroad was purchased by the
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...
, further expanding Stuart Draft's reach.
George Samuel Etter opened his Etter Funeral Home in Stuarts Draft in 1895.
Other businesses that opened in Stuarts Draft in 1895 include a barrel factory and a chair factory.
Also in 1895, the
Fishersville, Barterbrook, and Stuarts Draft Telephone Company was established.
Its first telephones were operational in May 1897.
In 1904, the Stuarts Draft post office included two delivery routes, serving 1,200 people.
Stuarts Draft School was the first school in Augusta County to operate for a nine-month term in 1906.
The Citizens Educational League raised funds to expand the school building and add a playground, library, and organ.
In 1907, the People's Bank opened in Stuarts Draft and was operated by cashier S. H. Moore.
In 1913, B. B. Kube opened a blacksmith shop in the Stuart Draft village area; he rebuilt his shop after the original structure burned in 1928.
Dr. William Baldwin Dodge, a physician for railroad employees, became Stuart Draft's doctor and a businessman.
He opened the Dodge Inn on Main Street (now Draft Avenue), providing accommodations and packed lunches for travelers.
Dodge also developed Mountain Lake, now called
Shenandoah Acres, in the 1939s.
In the early 20th century, Stuarts Draft was a farming community specialized in livestock and fruit.
In the 1920s, fruit production included apples, peaches, and pears.
At that time, the average apple production from Stuarts Draft was 200 to 400 railroad car loads.
Stuart Drafts' main apple producers were Alta Vista, Robert Black, Cisco Orchards, William Baldwin Dodge, George Harper, Samuel B. Harper, Charles I. Keyt, Linda Vista, and Virginia Valley—with each growing 1,000 to 6,000 barrels each annually.
Dodge was the only large-scale grower of cranberries south of New Jersey, yielding 500 to 1,000 bushels a year.
Cattle was the most common commercial livestock, although farmers in Stuarts Draft also raised hogs, sheep, and poultry. Most of the community's households produced eggs.
There was also a large incubator in Stuarts Draft that produced 50,000 to 75,000 eggs annually.
In the 1940s, a number ofGerman–speaking members of
Old Order Amish
The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss and Alsatian origins. As they maintain a degree of separation from surrounding populations, and ho ...
moved to Stuart’s Draft from Pennsylvania. In the 1960s, Stuarts Draft entered the modern industrial era with the opening of Draftco and the J. K. Porter plant (now NIBCO).
In the 1970s, other manufacturers moved to Stuarts Draft, including Hollister, Mastic Corporation/
Alcoa
Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...
(now PlyGem Industries), and P. T. Components (now
Rexnord).
["Alcoa Completes Sale of Home Exteriors Business to Ply Gem Industries." ''Business Wire'', 31 Oct. 2006. ''Gale General OneFile'', . Accessed 29 Nov. 2022.] This was followed by a
Hershey Company plant and
McKee Foods
McKee Foods Corporation is a privately held and family-owned American snack food and granola manufacturer headquartered in Collegedale, Tennessee. The corporation is the maker of Drake's Cakes, Fieldstone Bakery snacks and cereal, Little Debbie ...
in the 1980s and 1990s, respectively.
Manufacturing significantly increased the population and development of Stuarts Draft. In 2017 and 2018, the community held a series of public meetings to create a Stuart Draft Small Area Plan.
The process included elected officials and consultants.
Spanning 2019 through 2039, the resulting plan addresses land use, development, and transportation needs.
It also defines areas for urban development (business, industrial, public use, and residential) and agricultural and rural conservation.
Notes
Geography
The Stuarts Draft CDP is located in southeast Augusta County on the northwest side of the
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...
.
It is located in the
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...
, part of the valley belt of
Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
.
The area features a flat valley or cove, regionally called a draft.
The soil is rich and fertile, well suited for agricultural purposes.
Stuarts Draft is eight miles south of
Staunton and seven miles southwest of
Waynesboro.
According to the 2020
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the CDP has a total area of 29.31 square miles (75.9 km
2).
This is an increase from 2010 when the area was listed as being 19.82 acres.
The CDP includes the
Christians Creek and the
South River watersheds and parts of the Beverley Manor, Riverheads, and the South River magisterial districts.
The
South River is a tributary of the
South Fork of the Shenandoah River. Major streams in Stuarts Draft include Barterbrook Branch, Cole's Run, Deep Pond Run, Falling Rock Creek, Folly Mills Creek, Goose Creek, Johns Runs, Loves Run, Pine Run, and Stony Run.
The
George Washington National Forest
The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests is an administrative entity combining two U.S. United States National Forest, National Forests into one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. The forests cover o ...
is at the southern border of Stuarts Draft.
The forests consist primarily of oaks, including white, black, red, post, and chestnut oaks.
Other trees include ash, balsam fir, beech, birch, black maple, black spruce, black walnut,
cucumber tree, dogwood, elm, fir, gum, hemlock, hickory, hornbeam, locust, mulberry, persimmon, red cedar, red maple, sugar maple, sumac, sycamore, tulip poplar, umbrella tree (
magnolia tripetala), white cherry, while maple, white pine, and yellow pine.
Some areas include rhododendron and laurel.
Wildlife native to the area include black bear, deer, red fox, porcupine, beaver, hare, rabbit, and weasel.
Perennial streams in the area include native
brook trout
The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada. Two ecological forms of brook trout h ...
.
Mineral deposits in the national forest include clay, gravel, iron, manganese, and sand.
Stuarts Draft includes several natural and man-made ponds. Lake Wilda is Green Pond is a naturally occurring high-elevation pond on the Big Levels Ridge.
It is five acres in size during the wet season.
The Virginia Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries constructed the Maple Flats Ponds in the late 1950s to serve migrating waterfowl.
However, this project failed because water levels were too low seasonally.
These ponds are now stocked with
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
,
bluegill
The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, in Texas, "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands ea ...
, and
catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...
for recreational use,
There are naturally occurring sinkhole ponds near the Maple Flats Ponds, including Spring Pond and Twin Ponds that are home to a botanically significant range of plants.
Adjacent to the national forest,
Shenandoah Acres includes a small spring-fed lake. Historically, the property included a
cranberry bog, one of the sinkhole ponds in the Maple Flats area. The cranberry bog was well known by botanists as a site for several rare plants and orchids, including the
rose pogonia and
grass pink orchids. In the journal ''Claytonia'', the botanist Lloyd Carr described the pond as a sea of pink when the orchids were in bloom. However, the bog was destroyed to create Shenandoah Acres, and many of the rare species became
locally extinct.
The Stuarts Draft CDP includes agricultural conservation areas and rural conservation areas.
The Cowbane Natural Area Preserve includes 1 with calcareous spring marshes, mesic prairies, and wet prairies.
These three landscapes were historically common in the area but were reduced over time by agriculture and development.
Climate
The summers in Stuarts Draft are warm and humid. Winters in Stuarts Draft are cold and snowy.
The temperature ranges are from 26 °F to 86 °F; it is rarely below 11 °F or above 93 °F.
Demographics
As of the
2020 U.S. Census, 12,142 people live in the Stuarts Draft CDP.
The population is 93% white, 4.3% black, 2% two or more races, 0.4% Asian, and 0.3% Native American. The white population is 1.6% Hispanic or Latino, and 1.3% of its total population is foreign-born.
Stuarts Draft's population is 51.7% female and 48.3% male. The population's age range is 18.7% over the age of 65 years, 58.4% between 19 and 64 years, 22.9% under eighteen years of age, and 5.2% under the age of five years. 9.4% of its residents under the age of 65 have a disability. 94% of its population over the age of 24 years are high school graduates or higher; 20.5% have a bachelor's degree or higher.
There are 4,992 households in Stuarts Draft, with an average household size of 2.47.
Economy
According to the
2020 U.S. Census, the median household income in the Stuarts Draft CDP is $63,679, the average household income is $$75,788, and the per capita income is $27,975.
Of those over sixteen years of age, 63.6% are employed in the civilian workforce.
As of July 2022, there are 5,260 housing units in Stuarts Draft, with an average value of $251,669 and a median value of $251,669.
57% of the residents are owner-occupied.
In Stuarts Draft, 10.8% of the residents live in poverty, while 5.9% of the people under 65 years do not have health insurance.
Employers
Agriculture continues to play a role in the economy of the area.
However, Stuarts Draft's largest employers are its manufacturing and distribution facilities. These industries were attracted to Stuarts Draft by its proximity to major interstates and metropolitan areas, a relatively flat landscape, and a "high-quality workforce with a strong work ethic."
Draftco Inc. is a machine and fabrication shop founded in Stuarts Draft in 1965.
In 1969,
NIBCO (formerly J. K. Porter), a manufacturer of wrought copper fittings for the flow control industry, opened its manufacturing plant in Stuarts Draft.
Hollister Incorporated, which develops and manufactures medical devices and products, opened its facility in Stuarts Draft in 1979.
Other manufacturers moving to Stuarts Draft in the 1970s include Ply-Gem Siding Group (formerly
Alcoa
Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...
) and
Rexnord (formerly P. T. Components).
The Hershey Company
The Hershey Company, often called just Hershey or Hershey's, is an American multinational corporation, multinational confectionery company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. T ...
opened its second-largest United States manufacturing plant in Stuarts Draft in 1980.
It employees more than 1,300 people.
In February 2022, some Hershey employees started a campaign to join the
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers’ union (BCTGM) to gain better working conditions.
Hershey was against unionization and responded by hiring union-busting consultants,
Labor Relations Institute. In March 2022, Hershey's workers voted against unionization at the Stuarts Draft plant.
McKee Foods
McKee Foods Corporation is a privately held and family-owned American snack food and granola manufacturer headquartered in Collegedale, Tennessee. The corporation is the maker of Drake's Cakes, Fieldstone Bakery snacks and cereal, Little Debbie ...
moved to the area in 1990 and has around 1,000 employees.
It manufactures
Little Debbie
McKee Foods Corporation is a privately held and family-owned American snack food and granola manufacturer headquartered in Collegedale, Tennessee. The corporation is the maker of Drake's Cakes, Fieldstone Bakery snacks and cereal, Little Debbie ...
snack cakes. The Target Mid-Atlantic Distribution Center in Stuarts Draft has a footprint of .
It was listed as the eighth largest
tilt-up building in the world by the
American Tilt-Up Association.
The Plant Company opened in Stuarts Draft in 2019 with a commercial greenhouse. It grows houseplants exclusively for the consumer brand Proven Winners.
Arts and culture
Events and festivals
Sweet Dreams is a family-friendly, day-long festival held in Stuarts Draft Park each summer since around 2004.
Architecture
Stuarts Draft has a historic commercial district located along Draft Avenue, formerly Main Street.
Surviving structures from the railroad era include the Kube Blacksmith Shop (1928) and the Etter Funeral Home (1895), on the corner of Flory Avenue.
Also on Draft Avenue, the Shenvalee Farmhouse (1890) is a
Victorian-style house.
Two properties in Stuarts Draft are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. Dating to , the
Bare House is a
Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...
and
Italianate style
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Ita ...
brick house, located off Wilda Road.
Its related two-story stone mill, now in ruins, operated from 1795 through 1850.
Other historic structures on the property include a brick well house and meat house, a small frame barn, and a cistern.
Located on U.S. Route 340 (Stuarts Draft Highway), the
Harper House is a two-story brick Italianate-style house from the mid-19th century.
Other historic structures on the property that are included in the National Register listing include a large meat house and a two-story frame structure that likely was as a summer kitchen, laundry, and dwelling.
There is also a large mortise-and-tenon frame granary.
Another historic property in Stuarts Draft, the Colter House is a two-story brick house located off of Locust Grove Lane.
Parts of the Colter House may date to . There is also a
Craftsman style
American Craftsman is an American domestic architectural style, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which included interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts, beginning in the last years of the 19th century. Its i ...
farmhouse (1901) at 239 Stuart Avenue.
Churches
Churches located in Stuarts Draft include: Bible Truth Church, Calvary United Methodist Church, Destiny Family Center (
Assemblies of God
The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...
), Finley Memorial Presbyterian Church, Good Shepard Church of the Nazarene, Greenmonte Mennonite Church, Pilgrim Christian Fellowship (
Beachy Amish Mennonite Fellowship), Rankin United Methodist Church, Rejoicing Life Church (
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
The Foursquare Church is an international Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1923 by evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. It lies within the evangelical tradition. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California, United States.
H ...
), Ridgeview Baptist Church (
Baptist Bible Fellowship International
The Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI) is a conservative Baptist Christian denomination. It is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.
History
The Fellowship was founded during a meeting at Fort Worth in 1950 by a group of 100 pasto ...
), Sherando United Methodist Church, Steadfast Church of God in Christ (Pentecostal), Stuarts Draft Baptist Church (
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...
), Stuarts Draft Christian Fellowship, Stuarts Draft Good Shepherd (
Nazarene), Stuarts Draft Mennonite Church, Valley Baptist Church (Independent), and White Hill Church of the Brethren.
Sports
Stuarts Draft has a
summer baseball league team, the Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks. The team plays at The Diamond Club, leased to it by Augusta County.
The Diamondbacks are a member of the
Rockingham County Baseball League and were champions in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016.
Parks and recreation
Kate Schneider Park is operated by the Stuarts Draft
Ruritan
Ruritan National is a service club located in small towns and rural areas in the United States. It aims to achieve "Fellowship, Goodwill and Community Service". The local clubs are autonomous from the national organization. Many Ruritan clubs spon ...
s and provides three lit baseball fields, one unlit baseball field, a pavilion, and a large
horseshoes
Horseshoe is a shoe for horses and by analogy is applied to many things with a similar shape.
Horseshoes (game), a tossing game played with a horseshoe
Horseshoe(s) or Horse Shoe(s) may also refer to:
Places Settlements and jurisdictions
* Horse ...
court. Friendship Park provides a single-lit baseball field.
Stuarts Draft Park is a county-administered facility that opened in 2004.
It has a junior Olympic-sized swimming pool, a pool house, the John W. Swett Amphitheater, two baseball fields, two picnic shelters, a playground, two soccer/multi-purpose fields, and a walking trail.
Shenandoah Acres was a popular resort operated and owned by the Blacka family from 1935 to 2004.
Billed as "America's Finest Inland Beach", it featured 250 campsites, cabins, horseback riding, tennis courts, a volleyball and softball field, shuffleboard, a fishing pond, a beach area, and a sand-bottom swimming lake.
Shenandoah Acres reopened in 2015 as Sun Retreats Shenandoah Valley; the new owners expanded the facilities to 315 campsites and added an arcade. Covering , it is the largest recreation development in the George Washington National Forest area.
The Stuarts Draft Library opened in October 2017; it is part of the Augusta County Library system.
Government
The Augusta County Board of Supervisors governs Stuarts Draft as part of Augusta County. The community's representative is elected from the South River Magisterial District.
Education
Stuarts Draft includes four
Augusta County Schools: Guy K. Stump Elementary School, Stuarts Draft Elementary School, Stuarts Draft Middle School, and
Stuarts Draft High School.
The expanded CDP is also served by Beverley Manor Middle School, Riverheads Elementary School, and
Riverheads High School.
Private schools in Stuarts Draft include Pilgrim Christian School, which offers grades one through twelve, and Ridgeview Christian School which teaches grades pre-kindergarten through twelve.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Public transit
Brite Bus provides public transportation through its Stuarts Draft Link.
The link connects Stuarts Draft to
Fishersville,
Waynesboro, and employment and healthcare locations.
Primary routes
Major highways in Stuarts Draft include
U.S. Route 340 (Stuarts Draft Highway).
It is also close to intersections with
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 Interstate 40, I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee, Dandridge, Tennessee; its nort ...
and
Interstate 64
Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 70, I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and U.S. Route 61, US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern ter ...
.
Stuarts Draft's primary roads include SR 608 (Cold Springs Road/Tinkling Spring Road/Draft Avenue), SR 610 (Howardsville Turnpike), SR 624 (Lyndhurst Road), SR 633 (Patton Farm Road), SR 634 (Patton Farm Road), SR 635 (Mount Vernon Road/Augusta Farms Road), SR 639 (Wayne Avenue), SR 660 (Lake Road), and SR 664 (Lyndhurst Road).
Health care
Stuarts Draft has a variety of primary and specialty care medical practices, including offices affiliated with the
University of Virginia Health System
The University of Virginia ( UVA) Health System is an academic health care center associated with the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The health system includes a medical center (with main hospital, children's hospital, and clinic ne ...
and
Augusta Health.
Its closest hospital in Augusta Health, a 255-bed facility in
Fishersville.
Augusta Health is a research affiliate of the
Duke Cancer Institute
The Duke Cancer Institute (DCI) is a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, research facility, and hospital. Founded in 1971, the center is part of the Duke University School of Medicine and Duke University Health Sys ...
.
Utilities
The Augusta County Service Authority provides public water through the South River Water System and sewer service through the Stuarts Draft Waste Water Treatment Plant.
Dominion Energy
Dominion Energy, Inc., commonly referred to as Dominion, is an American energy company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and supplies natural gas to parts of Ut ...
and
Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative provide electricity to the area.
Public safety
The Stuarts Draft Volunteer Fire Company and Stuarts Draft Rescue Squad provide public safety services to Stuarts Draft.
Notable people
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Shonn Bell, professional football player
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John Colter
John Colter (c.1770–1775 – May 7, 1812 or November 22, 1813) was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806). Though party to one of the more famous expeditions in history, Colter is best remembered for explorations he made ...
, a member of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...
[Scaliger, Charles. 2010. “The First Mountain Man.” ''New American (08856540)'' 26 (2): 35. via EBSCO. Accessed November 29, 2022.]
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George Harris, professional wrestler
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James Patton, merchant, pioneer frontiersman, and soldier
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Susan Swecker
Susan Reid Swecker (born March 14, 1955) is an American public affairs consultant who served as the chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia from 2015 to 2025. She was chairwoman of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
Early life and ...
, chair of the
Democratic Party of Virginia
The Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA/VA Dems) is the Virginia affiliate of the Democratic Party based in Richmond, Virginia.
Historically, the Democratic Party has dominated Virginia politics. Since the 1851 Virginia gubernatorial election, th ...
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Brian Whitesell
Brian Whitesell (born April 23, 1964) is an American team manager in the NASCAR Cup Series from Stuarts Draft, Virginia. He is the team manager for the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 team of Chase Elliott and the No. 24 team of William Byron. He has ...
,
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
team manager
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Kenneth R. Whitesell,
vice admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral.
Australia
In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...
in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
References
{{Authority control
Census-designated places in Augusta County, Virginia
Shenandoah Valley