Winchester is the northwesternmost

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

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 28,120. It is the principal city of the Winchester metropolitan area with a population of just over 145,000 extending into

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, which is a part of the

Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area The Washington–Baltimore combined metropolitan statistical area is a combined statistical area, statistical area, including the overlapping metropolitan areas of Washington metropolitan area, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metropolitan area, B ...

. Winchester is home to

Shenandoah University Shenandoah University is a private university in Winchester, Virginia, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 4,000 students across more than 200 areas of study in six schools and colleges. Shenandoah University is one of five Unit ...

and the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.

History

Native Americans

Indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

lived along the waterways of present-day Virginia for thousands of years before European contact.

Archeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

and

anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behaviour, wh ...

studies have provided insights into their cultures. Though little is known of specific tribal movements before European contact, 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 ...

area, considered a sacred common hunting ground, appears by the 17th century to have been controlled mostly by the local

Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages () are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, almost all surviving I ...

-speaking groups, including the Senedo and Sherando. The Algonquian-speaking

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

began to challenge the Iroquoians for the hunting grounds later in that century. The

explorers Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some expectation of discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organisms capable of directed locomotion and the abilit ...

Batts and Fallam in 1671 reported the Shawnee were contesting with the Iroquoians for control of the valley and were losing. During the later

Beaver Wars The Beaver Wars (), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (), were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout the Saint Lawrence River valley in Canada and the Great L ...

, the powerful

Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

from New York (particularly Seneca from the western part of the territory) subjugated all tribes in the frontier region west of the

Fall Line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is noticeable especially the place rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the ...

. By the time Anglo-European settlers arrived in the Shenandoah Valley around 1729, the Shawnee were the principal occupants in the area of the Shenandoah Valley that developed into Winchester. During the first decade of white settlement, the valley was also a conduit and battleground in a bloody intertribal war between the Seneca and allied Algonquian-speaking

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

from the north, and their distant traditional enemies, the

Siouan Siouan ( ), also known as Siouan–Catawban ( ), is a language family of North America located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east. Name Authors who ...

Catawba based in the Carolinas. The Iroquois Six Nations (the

Tuscarora people The Tuscarora (in Tuscarora language, Tuscarora ''Skarù:ręˀ'') are an indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands in Canada and the United States. They are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian Native Americans in the United States, Native Amer ...

had joined them by 1722 after losing battles in the Carolinas in the early 18th century) finally ceded their nominal claim to the Shenandoah Valley at the

Treaty of Lancaster The Six Nations land cessions were a series of land cessions by the Haudenosaunee and Lenape to Europeans during the late 17th and 18th centuries. They ceded large amounts of land, including both recently conquered territories acquired from othe ...

(1744), arranged by British officials. The treaty also established the right of

colonists A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

to use the

Indian Road The Great Indian Warpath (GIW)—also known as the Great Indian War and Trading Path, or the Seneca Trail—was part of the network of trails in eastern North America developed and used by Native Americans which ran through the Great Appalachian ...

through the valley, later known as the

Great Wagon Road The Great Wagon Road, also known as the Philadelphia Wagon Road, is a historic trail in the eastern United States that was first traveled by indigenous tribes, and later explorers, settlers, soldiers, and travelers. It extended from British Penn ...

. The father of Shawnee chief

Cornstalk "Corn stalk" or "Cornstalk" may refer to: * The stem of a maize plant * ''Dracaena fragrans'' or cornstalk dracaena, a flowering plant * Cornstalk (Shawnee leader), a Shawnee Indian chief during the American Revolution (1720–1777) * Cornstalk, We ...

had his own court at Shawnee Springs, near today's

Cross Junction, Virginia Cross Junction is an unincorporated community in northern Frederick County, Virginia, United States. Cross Junction is located on the North Frederick Pike ( U.S. Highway 522) at its intersection with Collinsville Road. Cross Junction also encomp ...

, until 1754. In 1753, on the eve of 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 ...

(

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

), messengers came to the Shawnee from tribes further west, inviting them to leave the Valley and cross the

Alleghenies The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

, which they did the following year. The Shawnee settled for some years in the

Ohio Country The Ohio Country (Ohio Territory, Ohio Valley) was a name used for a loosely defined region of colonial North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and south of Lake Erie. Control of the territory and the region's fur trade was disputed i ...

before being forced by the US government under Indian Removal in the 1830s to remove to

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

European exploration and settlement

French Jesuit expeditions may have first entered the valley as early as 1606, as the explorer

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

made a crude map of the area in 1632. The first confirmed exploration of the northern valley was by the explorer

John Lederer John Lederer was a 17th-century German physician and an explorer of the Appalachian Mountains. He and the members of his party became the first Europeans to crest the Blue Ridge Mountains (1669) and the first to see the Shenandoah Valley and the ...

, who viewed the region from the current Fauquier and Warren County line on August 26, 1670. In 1705 the Swiss explorer Louise Michel and in 1716 Governor

Alexander Spotswood Major-General Alexander Spotswood (12 December 1676 – 7 June 1740) was a British army officer, explorer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Virginia from 1710 to 1722. After an unsatisfactory military career, in 1710 ...

did more extensive mapping and surveying. In the late 1720s, Governor William Gooch promoted settlement by issuing large land grants.

Robert "King" Carter Robert Carter I ( – 4 August 1732) was an American planter, merchant, and colonial administrator who served as the acting governor of Virginia from 1726 to 1727. An agent for the Northern Neck Proprietary, Carter emerged as the wealthiest sett ...

, manager of the Lord Fairfax proprietorship, acquired . This combination of events directly precipitated an inrush of settlers from Pennsylvania and New York, made up of a blend of

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Scots-Irish homesteaders, many of them new immigrants. The Scots-Irish comprised the most numerous group of immigrants from the British Isles before the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. The settlement of Winchester began as early as 1729, when Quakers such as Abraham Hollingsworth migrated up (south) the Great Valley along the long-traveled Indian Path (later called the

by the colonists) from Pennsylvania. He and others began to homestead on old Shawnee campgrounds. Tradition holds that the Quakers purchased several tracts on Apple-pie Ridge from the natives, who did not disturb those settlements. The first German settler appears to have been Jost Hite in 1732, who brought ten other families, including some Scots-Irish. Though Virginia was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

colony, Governor William Gooch had a tolerant policy on religion. The availability of land grants brought in many religious families, who were often given plots through the sponsorship of fellow-religious grant purchasers and speculators. As a result, the Winchester area became home to some of the oldest

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and

churches in the valley. The first Lutheran worship was established by Rev. John Casper Stoever Jr., and Alexander Ross established Hopewell Meeting for the Quakers. By 1736, Scots-Irish built the Opequon Presbyterian Church in Kernstown. A legal fight erupted in 1735 when Thomas Fairfax, Sixth Lord Fairfax came to Virginia to claim his land grant. It included "all the land in Virginia between the Rappahannock and the Potomac rivers", an old grant from King Charles II which overlapped and included Frederick County. It took some time for land titles to be cleared among early settlers.

Founding

By 1738 these settlements became known as Frederick Town. The county of

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

was carved out of Orange County. The first government was created, consisting of a County Court as well as the Anglican Frederick Parish (for purposes of tax collection). Colonel James Wood, an immigrant from

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, England, was the first court clerk and had been a surveyor for

Orange County, Virginia Orange County is a county (United States), county located in the central Piedmont region of Virginia, Piedmont region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was ...

. He contracted for his own home Glen Burnie homstead around 1737, and it may have been used for early government business. Wood laid out 26 half-acre (2,000 m²) lots in 1744. The County Court held its first session on November 11, 1743, where James Wood served until 1760. Lord Fairfax, understanding that possession is 9/10ths of the law, built a home here (in present-day Clarke County) in 1748. In February 1752, the Virginia

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...

granted the fourth city charter in Virginia to 'Winchester' as Frederick Town was renamed after Colonel Wood's birthplace in England. In 1754, Abraham Hollingsworth built the local residence called Abram's Delight, which served as the first local Quaker meeting house.

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

spent a good portion of his young life in Winchester helping survey the Fairfax land grant for Thomas Fairfax, Sixth Lord Fairfax, as well as performing surveying work for Colonel Wood. In 1758 Wood added 158 lots to the west side of town. In 1759 Thomas Lord Fairfax contributed 173 more lots to the south and east.

French and Indian War

General Edward Braddock Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe and Canada as ...

's expeditionary march to

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne ( , ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed ...

crossed through this area in 1755 on the way to Fort Cumberland. Knowing the area well from work as a surveyor,

accompanied General Braddock as his aide-de-camp. Resident

Daniel Morgan Daniel Morgan (c. 1736 – July 6, 1802) was an American pioneer, soldier, and politician from Virginia. One of the most respected battlefield tacticians of the American Revolutionary War of 1775–1783, he later commanded troops during the sup ...

joined Braddock's Army as a wagoner on its march to Pennsylvania. In 1756, on land granted by James Wood, Colonel George Washington designed and began constructing Fort Loudoun, which ultimately covered in present-day downtown Winchester on North Loudoun Street. Fort Loudoun was occupied and manned with guns until the start of the

. During this era, a jail was built in Winchester. It occasionally held Quakers from many parts of Virginia who protested the

and refused to pay taxes to the Anglican parish. While their cousins in Pennsylvania dominated politics there, Virginia was an Anglican colony and did not tolerate pacifism well. The strong Quaker tradition of pacifism against strong Virginia support for this war and the next, led to long-term stifling of the Quaker population. Winchester became a gateway to Quaker settlements further west; by the mid-19th century, the Quaker population was a small minority here. During the war in 1758, at the age of 26, Colonel George Washington was elected to represent Frederick County to the

. Daniel Morgan later served as a ranger protecting the borderlands of Virginia against Indian raids, returning to Winchester in 1759. Following the war, from 1763 to 1774 Daniel Morgan served in Captain Ashby's company and defended Virginia against

Pontiac's Rebellion Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a confederation of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans who were dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region follow ...

and Shawnee Indians in the Ohio valley (that part now in

Revolutionary War

During the Revolutionary War, the Virginia House of Burgesses chose local resident and

veteran

to raise a company of militia to support General George Washington's efforts during the Siege of Boston. He led the 96 men of "Morgan's Sharpshooters" from Winchester on July 14, 1775, and marched to Boston in 21 days. Morgan, Wood, and others also performed duties in holding captured

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

, particularly Hessian soldiers. Hessian soldiers were known to walk to the high ridge north and west of town, where they could purchase and eat apple pies made by the Quakers. The ridge became affectionately known as Apple Pie Ridge. The Ridge Road built before 1751 leading north from town was renamed Apple Pie Ridge Road. The local farmers found booming business in feeding the Virginia Militia and fledgling volunteer American army. Following the war, the town's first newspapers, ''The Gazette'' and ''The Centinel'', were established. Daniel Morgan continued his public service, being elected to one term in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

(1797–1799).

Civil War

Winchester and the surrounding area were the site of numerous battles during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, as the Confederate and Union armies strove to control that portion of the

. Seven major battlefields are in the original Frederick County: Within the city of Winchester: * The

First Battle of Kernstown The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862, in Frederick County and Winchester, Virginia, the opening battle of Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American ...

, March 23, 1862 * The

First Battle of Winchester The First Battle of Winchester, fought on May 25, 1862, in and around Frederick County, Virginia, and Winchester, Virginia, was a major victory in Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's Campaign through the Shenandoah Vall ...

, May 25, 1862 * The

Second Battle of Winchester The Second Battle of Winchester was fought between June 13 and June 15, 1863, in Frederick County and Winchester, Virginia as part of the Gettysburg Campaign during the American Civil War. As Confederate Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell mo ...

, June 13–15, 1863 * The Second Battle of Kernstown, July 24, 1864 * The

Third Battle of Winchester The Third Battle of Winchester, also known as the Battle of Opequon or Battle of Opequon Creek, was an American Civil War battle fought near Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864. Union Army Major General Philip Sheridan defeated Confed ...

, September 19, 1864 Near the city of Winchester: * The Battle of Cool Spring at

Snicker's Gap Snickers Gap, originally William's Gap, is a Wind gap (geographical feature), wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountain on the border of Loudoun County, Virginia, Loudoun County and Clarke County, Virginia, Clarke County in Virginia. The gap is trave ...

, July 17–18, 1864 * The

Battle of Berryville The Battle of Berryville was fought September 3 and September 4, 1864, in Clarke County, Virginia. It took place toward the end of the American Civil War. After taking control of Smithfield Summit on August 29, Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. S ...

, September 3–4, 1864 * The Battle of Belle Grove (or Cedar Creek), October 19, 1864 Jackson headquarters

Winchester was a key strategic position for the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

during the war. It was an important operational objective in Gen

Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American military officer who served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia declared secession from ...

's and Col Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's defense of the Shenandoah Valley in 1861, Jackson's Valley Campaign of 1862, the Gettysburg Campaign of 1863, and the Valley Campaigns of 1864. Including minor cavalry raids and patrols, and occasional reconnaissances, historians claim that Winchester changed hands as many as 72 times and 13 times in one day. Battles raged along Main Street at points in the war. Union General Sheridan and Stonewall Jackson located their headquarters just one block apart at times. At the north end of the lower Shenandoah Valley, Winchester was a base of operations for major Confederate invasions into the Northern United States. At times the attacks threatened the capital of Washington, D.C. The town served as a central point for troops conducting major raids against the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the Grand Old Ditch, operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland. It replaced the Patowmack Canal ...

, and turnpike and telegraph paths along those routes and the Potomac River Valley. For instance, in 1861, Stonewall Jackson removed 56 locomotives and over 300 railroad cars, along with miles of track, from the B&O Railroad. His attack closed down the B&O's main line for ten months. Much of the effort to transport this equipment by horse and carriage centered in Winchester. During the war, Winchester was occupied by the Union Army for four major periods: by Major General

Nathaniel Banks Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union general during the Civil War. A millworker, Banks became prominent in local debating societies and entered ...

(March ? May 12 to 25, 1862, and June 4 to September 2, 1862), Major General Robert Milroy (December 24, 1862, to June 15, 1863), Major General

Philip Sheridan Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with General-i ...

(September 19, 1864, to February 27, 1865), and Major General

Winfield Scott Hancock Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a United States Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service ...

(February 27, 1865, to June 27, 1865). Major General Sheridan raided up the valley from Winchester, where his forces destroyed "2,000 barns filled with grain and implements, not to mention other outbuildings, 70 mills filled with wheat and flour" and "numerous head of livestock," to lessen the area's ability to supply the Confederates. Numerous local men served with the Confederate Army, mostly as troops.

Hunter McGuire Hunter Holmes McGuire (October 11, 1835 – September 19, 1900) was an American soldier, physician, teacher, and orator. McGuire was a surgeon in the Confederate Army attached to Stonewall Jackson's command, and he continued serving with the Army ...

was Chief Surgeon of the Second "Jackson's" Corps of the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

. He laid the foundations for the future

Geneva convention upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...

s regarding the treatment of medical doctors during warfare. Winchester served as a major center for Confederate medical operations, particularly after the

Battle of Sharpsburg The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgin ...

in 1862 and the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

in 1863. Among those who took part in battles at Winchester were future U.S. presidents

McKinley McKinley may refer to: People *McKinley (name), a page for people with the surname and given name "McKinley" **William McKinley, 25th president of the United States. Places Philippines * Fort William McKinley (now Fort Bonifacio) in Metro Ma ...

and

Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Hay ...

, both as officers in the Union

IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...

. The United States assigned military presence to Winchester and other parts of the South during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

after the war. Winchester was part of the

First Military District The First Military District of the U.S. Army was one of five temporary administrative units of the U.S. War Department that existed in the American South. The district was stipulated by the Reconstruction Acts during the Reconstruction period fo ...

, commanded by Major General

John Schofield John McAllister Schofield (; September 29, 1831 – March 4, 1906) was an American soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of War (1868–1869) under President Andrew Johnson and later serve ...

. This period lasted until January 26, 1870.

20th century

Winchester was the first city south of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

to install

electric light Electric light is an artificial light source powered by electricity. Electric Light may also refer to: * Light fixture, a decorative enclosure for an electric light source * Electric Light (album), ''Electric Light'' (album), a 2018 album by James ...

. In 1917 the

Winchester and Western Railroad The Winchester and Western Railroad is a shortline railroad operating from Gore, Virginia to Hagerstown, Maryland. It also operates several lines in southern New Jersey, connecting to Conrail Shared Assets Operations at Millville and Vinelan ...

connected Winchester with Rock Enon Springs, moving both vacationers and supplies to the resort that is now Camp Rock Enon with far greater speed. Winchester is the location of the bi-annual N-SSA national competition, keeping the tradition of Civil War era firearms alive. A three-block section of downtown Loudoun Street was closed to vehicular traffic in the 1970s and is a popular pedestrian area featuring many boutiques and cafés. The street was repaved with brick and landscaped in 2013. Apple Blossom Mall opened in 1982. In 1983, a tire dump in the area containing over seven million tires burned for nine months, polluting nearby areas with

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

and

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...

. The location was cleaned up as a

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

project between 1983 and 2002. Winchester has been designated as a Tree City USA by the

Arbor Day Foundation The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 500 million trees in neighborhoods, communitie ...

for over three decades.

Geography

Winchester is located at . According to the

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 city has a total area of , virtually all land. It is in the

, located between 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 ...

and the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

, and is 15 miles north-northeast of the northern peak of

Massanutten Mountain Massanutten Mountain is a synclinal ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, located in the U.S. state of Virginia. The original Native American name for the ridge is unknown. Geography The mountain bisects the Shenandoah Valley just e ...

I-81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Isla ...

passes through the city, along with

US 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

, US 522,

US 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that spans in the Southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its len ...

, which ends in the city, and SR 7, which also ends in the city. The city is approximately to the west of Washington, D.C., south of

Martinsburg, West Virginia Martinsburg is a city in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 18,773 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making Martinsburg the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia a ...

, north of

Front Royal Front Royal is the only incorporated town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was estimated at 15,400 as of 2023. It is the county seat of Warren County. History The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to beco ...

, south of

Harrisburg, PA Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

and north of Roanoke.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Winchester has depending on which isotherm is used, either a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

or a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

is 6b/7a. Winchester is one of the only cities in Virginia to have a humid continental climate.

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.''

Economy

Companies based in Winchester include American Woodmark, Trex, and Rubbermaid Commercial Products. Federal agencies with operations in Winchester include the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

, the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, and the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

. According to the City's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Record manufacturing

Winchester was home to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

' East Coast Pressing Plant. Capitol Records Distribution Corporation announced in 1968 the purchasing of land in Winchester, Va for a new record processing plant. Along with this plant they built several houses, bought a few small businesses and later built a tape production plant. The Winchester plant began construction in 1968 and production in 1969. The plant initially had a workforce of 250 people. This plant complemented the other existing manufacturing facilities of Capitol Records in Scranton, PA, Jacksonville, FL and Los Angeles, CA. In 1969 Capitol Records' Pressing Plant in Scranton began phasing out its vinyl manufacturing in favor of the new Winchester plant. Records pressed here include

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

' ''

Remain in Light ''Remain in Light'' is the fourth studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cass ...

'',

Dead Boys The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist Stiv Bators, rhythm gui ...

' ''

Young, Loud and Snotty ''Young, Loud and Snotty'' is the first studio album by the American punk band Dead Boys. It was recorded and released in 1977 on Sire Records, produced by Genya Ravan. The album is the only Dead Boys album to chart, peaking at 189 on the Billboa ...

'', and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

's ''

Fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

''. Capitol Records announced in late 1987 that it would end tape duplicating production in the US, in favor of offshore manufacturing, including in Winchester by early 1988, putting more than 500 employees out of work when they closed the Winchester plant.

Arts and culture

Historic sites

Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival

Winchester is the location of the annual

Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival The Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival ("The Bloom") is a 14-day festival held annually in spring in Winchester, Virginia. First held in 1924, it is one of the oldest civic celebrations in the Commonwealth of Virginia. History The festival was f ...

, which has existed since 1924. It is usually held during the first weekend in May. The festival includes a carnival, firework show, parades, several dances and parties, and a coronation where the Apple Blossom Queen is crowned. Local school systems and many businesses close the Friday of Apple Blossom weekend. Winchester has more than 20 different "artistic" apples that are made of various materials including wood, rubber pipe, plaster, and paint. These apples were created in 2005 by occupants of the city and were placed at a specific location at the artists' request after being auctioned off. For example, a bright red apple with a large stethoscope attached to it was placed beside a much-used entrance to the Winchester Medical Center.

Sports

Winchester is home to the Winchester Royals, which is part of the

Valley Baseball League The Valley Baseball League is an National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA and Major League Baseball, MLB-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. The league was s ...

, a

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball league in the

of Virginia.

is located in Winchester and has numerous male and female sports in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Winchester is also home to the Winchester Speedway, a 3/8-mile clay oval track, which plays host to a number of touring series, such as the

World of Outlaws Late Model Series The World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series is a late model, Dirt Super Late Model touring series currently owned and sanctioned by the World Racing Group. The series competes on dirt track racing, dirt ovals across the United Stat ...

, and the

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is a Late model, dirt late model touring series owned and operated by Lucas Oil. The series competes on dirt track racing, dirt ovals across the United States, primarily throughout the east coast and the midwest. ...

Government and politics

Winchester had long favored Republican candidates through the second half of the 20th Century. However, in 2008 the city swung strongly into the Democratic column to support

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. Even though Obama lost ground in 2012 and only carried the city by 148 votes, it has nevertheless stayed Democratic-leaning ever since. In 2020,

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

won the city with the highest percentage for a Democrat since 1936.

City council

Winchester's follows a Council-Manager form of government. It is governed by the Common Council, an elected body within a ward system. The city is composed of four wards, each with 2 councilmen, with the city's mayor serving as the ninth representative and leader of the council. While the council began as a 13-member board, it transitioned from 13 to 9, beginning in 2006 and ending in 2008. * Mayor: Les Veach (R) * Ward 1: Chip Newcom (D), Richard Bell (D) * Ward 2: Emily Windle (R), Terry Sloane (I) * Ward 3: Kim Herbstritt (D), Corey Sullivan (R) * Ward 4: Kathy Tagnesi (R), John Fox (R)

Education

Winchester Public Schools operates public schools, including

John Handley High School John Handley High School (usually referred to as JHHS) is an endowed public high school located in the city of Winchester, Virginia. It is a part of Winchester Public Schools. It was founded by a grant from Judge John Handley, hence the schoo ...

Transportation

The most prominent highway serving Winchester is

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 ...

. I-81 extends northeast to southwest, connecting Winchester to eastern

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, southwestern Virginia, eastern

, western

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and central

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Other highways passing through Winchester include

U.S. Route 11 U.S. Route 11 or U.S. Highway 11 (US 11) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway extending across the eastern U.S. The southern terminus of the route is at US 90 in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refu ...

U.S. Route 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that spans in the Southeastern United States. It runs close to the East Coast of the United States, At ...

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

and U.S. Route 522. These four highways follow city streets through downtown Winchester, with U.S. Route 17 coming to its northern terminus.

Virginia State Route 7 Virginia State Route 7 (VA 7) is a major primary state highway and busy commuter route in northern Virginia, United States. It travels southeast from downtown Winchester to SR 400 (Washington Street) in downtown Alexandria. It ...

also serves Winchester, terminating in downtown. Virginia State Route 37 bypasses the city to the west. Winchester Transit provides weekday transit for the city of Winchester.

Winchester Regional Airport Winchester Regional Airport is three miles southeast of Winchester, in Frederick County, Virginia. It was recognized by the state as a licensed commercial airport in 1937 and was Winchester Municipal Airport until 1987. Most U.S. airports use ...

provides general aviation and air taxi service to the area.

Notable people

18th century

* John H. Aulick (1787–1873),

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 ...

officer and veteran of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

Briscoe Baldwin Briscoe Gerard Baldwin (January 18, 1789 – May 18, 1852) was a Virginia attorney, politician, and jurist, who served four terms in the Virginia House of Delegates, at the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830, and a decade in the ...

(1789–1852), Virginia delegate and member of the Constitutional Convention *

Rebecca Boone Rebecca Bryan Boone (January 9, 1739 – March 18, 1813) was an American settler, pioneer and the wife of famed frontiersman Daniel Boone. She began her life in the Colony of Virginia (1606–1776), and at the age of ten moved with ...

(1739–1813), pioneer and wife of frontiersman

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

Jane Frazier Jane Frazier (or Fraser, sometimes Fraizier, also referred to as Jean or Jenny; January 1, 1735 – April 14, 1815) was a Virginia pioneer captured by Native Americans in the 18th century. The wife of Scottish frontiersman John Fraser, she was ta ...

(1735–1815), frontier woman *

(1735–1802), major general of Virginia militia in Revolutionary War; buried at Mount Hebron cemetery * Presley Neville (1756–1818), general, Revolutionary War aide-de-camp to the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

and Chief Burgess of the Borough of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

* Francis White (–1826), U.S. Representative * James Wood (1741–1813), brigadier general, Governor of Virginia, son of Winchester's founder

19th century

* Robert T. Barton (1842–1917), Virginia Delegate, Mayor of Winchester and Confederate veteran of the American Civil War *

Frances Courtenay Baylor Frances Courtenay Barnum ( Dawson, later Baylor; January 20, 1848 – October 15, 1920) was an American writer of fiction. Biography Frances Courtenay Dawson was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas on January 20, 1848. Her father, James Dawson, was a ...

(1848–1920), American novelist * Rear Admiral

Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer, and pioneering aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics. Aircraft flights in which he served as a navigator and expedition leader cr ...

(1888–1957), pioneering polar explorer * John Snyder Carlile (1817–1878), U.S. Senator, instrumental in the creation of

*U.S. Solicitor General * Charles Magill Conrad (1804–1878), Secretary of War under President Millard Fillmore *

Holmes Conrad Holmes Conrad (January 31, 1840 – September 4, 1915) was an American politician, lawyer and military officer. Early life Conrad was born in Winchester, Virginia. He was the son of Robert Young Conrad, a prominent lawyer of Winchester, and ...

(1840–1915),

United States Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the adv ...

and

Solicitor General of the United States The solicitor general of the United States (USSG or SG), is the fourth-highest-ranking official within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and represents the federal government in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. ...

under President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

and Confederate cavalry Major in the

* James William Denver (1817–1892), briefly a Brigadier General in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and for whom the city of

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Colorado, was named * Helen H. Gardener (1853–1925), rationalist orator and novelist"Helen Hamilton Gardener," in ''The National Cyclopaedia of America Biography: Volume 9.'' New York: James T. White and Co., 1899; pg. 451. * Frederick W. M. Holliday (1828–1899), colonel of 33rd Virginia Regiment, Provisional Army of the Confederate States, member of the

Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly/legislature of the Confederate States of America that existed from February 1861 to April/June 1865, during the American Civil War. Its actions were, ...

during the

and the

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor (United States), governor is head of the Government_of_Virginia#Executive_branch, executive branch ...

from 1878 to 1882. *

George Hay Lee George Hay Lee (1807 – November 20, 1873) was a Virginia lawyer and politician who served on the Virginia Court of Appeals from 1852 until Virginia declared secession in 1861. Early and family life Born in Winchester, Virginia in 1807 to one ...

(1808–1873), United States judge * Mary Greenhow Lee (1819–1907), diarist during the Civil War. * James M. Mason, U.S. Senator * Cornelia Peake McDonald (1822–1909), diarist during the Civil War *

, M.D. (1835–1900), Chief Surgeon of the Second "Jackson's" Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. President of the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...

. * Admiral Louis M. Nulton (1869–1954), superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy (1925–1928) and Commander

Battle Fleet The United States Battle Fleet or Battle Force was part of the organization of the United States Navy from 1922 to 1941. The General Order of 6 December 1922 organized the United States Fleet, with the Battle Fleet as the Pacific presence. Thi ...

(1929–1930). *

Sara Winifred Brown Sara Winifred Brown (1868–1948) was an African American teacher and medical doctor. She worked in disaster relief and gynecology. In 1910, she helped to found the group that would later become the National Association of University Women, and i ...

(1868–1948), African American professor and doctor of gynecology. Founded the National Association of University Women, and was the first woman to serve as an alumni trustee of Howard University. *

Spot Poles Spottswood Poles (December 27, 1887 – September 12, 1962) was an American outfielder in baseball's Negro leagues. One of the fastest players of his era, Poles was sometimes referred to as "the black Ty Cobb." Career According to Negro leagues ...

(1887–1962), accomplished baseball player in the precursor to the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

James Innes Randolph James Innes Randolph, Jr. (October 25, 1837 – April 29, 1887) was a Confederate States of America, Confederate army officer, lawyer, and poet. Early life and education Randolph was born in Winchester, Virginia and attended Hobart and Willi ...

(1837–1887), Confederate Army officer, lawyer, and poet * Heyward Shepherd (†1859), Black baggage porter on the

, first person killed during

John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was an effort by abolitionist John Brown, from October 16th to 18th, 1859, to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (since 1863, We ...

. There is a monument to him in Harpers Ferry. * John Randolph Tucker (1823–1897), U.S. Representative from Virginia * Josiah T. Walls (1842–1905), first African-American U.S. congressman from Florida * Charles Franklin Moss (1878–1961), photographer and artist

20th century

* Anne Tucker McGuire (1913–1988) was an American-born actress who appeared largely in British films and television * Joe Bageant (1946–2011), writer and journalist *

Brian Benben Brian Edward Benben (born June 18, 1956) is an American actor, best known for his role as Martin Tupper in the HBO comedy television series '' Dream On'' (1990–1996), and also known as Sheldon Wallace on ABC medical drama '' Private Practice'' ...

(1956–), actor * Harry F. Byrd Jr. (1914–2013), politician and U.S. Senator *

Lang Campbell Lang Campbell (born September 25, 1981) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the Arena Football League (AFL) and NFL Europe. He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in ...

(1981–), professional football quarterback *

Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...

(1932–1963), country/pop vocalist and music icon, born in Winchester, interred at Shenandoah Memorial Park. *

Doug Creek Paul Douglas Creek (March 1, 1969 – July 28, 2024) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2005 for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, the Tamp ...

(1969–2024), professional baseball player *

Claude Dallas Claude Lafayette Dallas Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American felon convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of two game wardens in Idaho. On May 16, 1986, he became the 400th fugitive listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted List. Biograp ...

(1950–), self-styled mountain man convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of two game wardens in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. * Penny DeHaven (1948–2014), country music singer *

John Gilkerson John Gilkerson (born May 6, 1985, in Winchester, Virginia) is an American soccer player. Career College and amateur Gilkerson was a standout defender during his college career at Winthrop University. He was named to the All-Big South first team ...

(1985–), professional soccer player *

Erick Green Erick O'Brien Green (born May 9, 1991) is an American professional basketball for Napoli Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He finished the 2012–13 NCAA Division I season as the top scorer in the nation at 25.0 points per game. Green wa ...

(1991–), professional basketball player * Jack Holt (1888–1951), actor * John Kirby (1908–1952), jazz musician *

Mark McFarland Mark M. McFarland (born February 1, 1978) is an American former NASCAR driver and current crew chief. He works for Spire Motorsports as the crew chief of their No. 77 Chevrolet SS in the ARCA Menards Series driven by Corey Day. In 2021, he won ch ...

(1978–), NASCAR driver * Devon McTavish (1984–), professional soccer player with

D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

* J. Kenneth Robinson (1916–1990), U.S. Representative *

Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum Sr. ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, author, and political commentator who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007. He was the Senate's Chairman of the United Sta ...

(1958–), presidential candidate, former U.S. senator * Henry H. Whiting (1923–2012), Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia * Emma Howard Wight (1863–1935), author * James "Clayster" Eubanks (1992–), professional ''

Call of Duty ''Call of Duty'' is a first-person shooter military video game series and media franchise published by Activision, starting in 2003. The games were first developed by Infinity Ward, then by Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games. Several spin-of ...

'' player

Sister cities

* Ambato, Ecuador *

, United Kingdom Winchester's first sister city,

, England, is where the Virginia town gets its name. During the Eisenhower administration, Winchester also formalized a sister city relationship with

Ambato, Ecuador Ambato (; full form, San Juan de Ambato; Quechuan languages, Quechua: Ampatu Llaqta) is a city located in the central Andes, Andean valley of Ecuador. Lying on the banks of the Ambato River (Ecuador), Ambato River, the city also sits beneath severa ...

References

External links

* *
City of Winchester

Official Winchester-Frederick County tourism website
{{authority control Cities in Virginia County seats in Virginia Northwestern Turnpike Winchester, VA–WV MSA Populated places established in 1752 1752 establishments in the Colony of Virginia

History

Native Americans

European exploration and settlement

Founding

French and Indian War

Revolutionary War

Civil War

20th century

Geography

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

Economy

Record manufacturing

Arts and culture

Historic sites

Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival

Sports

Government and politics

City council

Education

Transportation

Notable people

18th century

19th century

20th century

Sister cities

References

Further reading

External links