Welcome to the Shenandoah Valley

Welcome to the Shenandoah Valley. Although definitions vary, the Shenandoah Valley today is generally considered to run from the West Virginia counties of Berkeley and Jefferson, where the Shenandoah River joins the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry, to points south of Lexington, Virginia.

Josephine School Community Museum recalls African American history in Clarke County, Va.

African Americans share roots among other cultural groups who settled the Shenandoah Valley. Unlike the other groups, of course, nearly all African Americans were brought to this part of Virginia against their will. Just outside Berryville, Va., the Josephine School Community Museum commemorates the journey of a tiny, but not forgotten village from its founding by former slaves to the 1960s Civil Rights and school desegregation era. While some historians have observed that slavery may not have been very popular in parts of the Shenandoah Valley, slave labor was a fact of life on 18th and 19th century plantation farms. After the American Civil War, many former slaves and freed people who lived in the Valley would realize how important both community and education would be for the betterment of their new lives.One such group purchased land from one of the plantation-farm owners in the late 1800s and formed their own, segregated community just outside the town of Berryville, Va., in Clarke County. Josephine City had its own stores, churches, and one school, according to Josephine School Community Museum volunteer member, Dorothy Davis.  And because at that time, the citizens of Josephine City were not very welcome in Berryville, she says, the community became self-sustaining and very cohesive.   ...more

Valley's historic inns, hotels take guests back in time

You don’t have to look far within the Shenandoah Valley to experience its rich history. Many of the valley's towns and cities boast historic streetscapes with centuries-old buildings and homes. Some of them have been refurbished and converted into hotels, inns and B&Bs. Their owners go through great effort to restore the original architectural features and choose decor that reflects the lifestyle of residents who lived in the Valley hundreds of years ago. The Jacob Swartz House in New Market, for instance, gives its overnight guests a taste of life in Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War.   ...more

P. Buckley Moss Museum features work of renown Shenandoah Valley artist

  The artwork of P. Buckley Moss is seen by thousands of visitors each year here in the Valley at her museum in Waynesboro, Va. Her artwork is also displayed in over 200 galleries worldwide, and the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children's Education has raised millions of dollars to promote art as a classroom teaching resource, particularly for children with learning disabilities.   The museum has been open to the public for more than 20 years. Moss clearly shares a kinship with children with learning problems, having herself had to struggle with dyslexia when she was a girl. Her personal philosophy is simple: “The ancient proposition of the triumph of beauty and truth over injustice.”   ...more