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 eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, to the north by the Potomac River and to the south by the James River. The cultural region covers a larger area that includes all of the valley plus the Virginia highlands to the west, and the Roanoke Valley to the south. It is physiographically located within the Ridge and Valley province and is a portion of the Great Appalachian Valley.
Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in northwestern Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, Springfield had a population of 477. Springfield is located north of Romney along West Virginia Route 28 at its junction with Green Spring Road and Springfield Pike. It is currently considering incorporation.
Slanesville is an unincorporated community in northeastern Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Slanesville is located at the crossroads of Bloomery Pike with Slanesville Pike and Cold Stream Road. Slanesville Pike and Cold Stream Road formerly made up the Springfield Grade Road that ran from Capon Bridge to Springfield. According to the 2000 census, the Slanesville community has a population of 691.
West Virginia Route 45 is a state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The state highway runs 25.8 miles (41.5 km) from the Virginia state line near Glengary east to WV 230 and WV 480 in Shepherdstown. WV 45 connects the communities of Glengary and Arden in southwestern Berkeley County with the county seat of Martinsburg. The state highway also connects Shepherdstown in northern Jefferson County with Martinsburg, where the highway meets Interstate 81 (I-81), U.S. Route 11, and WV 9.
The South Branch Valley Railroad consists of a 52.4 mile (84.33 km) length of railroad in the U.S. state of West Virginia extending north along the South Branch Potomac River from Petersburg to the CSXT mainline at Green Spring adjacent to the Potomac River. At Green Spring, the CSXT mainline connects the SBVR to Cumberland, Maryland to the west and Martinsburg, West Virginia to the east. SBVR has been owned and operated by the West Virginia State Rail Authority (SRA) since it was sold by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad on October 11, 1978. Upon purchasing the B&O's South Branch line, West Virginia became the first state in the United States to both own and operate a commercial freight railroad. In 1985, major flooding of the South Branch Valley destroyed most of the rail line, including all three bridges that crossed the South Branch Potomac River. Despite talk of shutting down the railroad after the flood, reconstruction began two years later.
West Virginia Route 480 is a 5.64-mile-long (9.08 km) state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Known for most of its length as Kearneysville Pike, the highway extends from WV 115 in Kearneysville north to the Maryland state line at the Potomac River in Shepherdstown, from where the highway continues as Maryland Route 34. The route is one of the main north–south highways of northern Jefferson County and passes through the campus of Shepherd University. WV 480 was originally established in the early 1920s as West Virginia Route 48. The highway was paved in the mid-1920s, which included a different routing through Shepherdstown. WV 48's present routing through the town was established in the late 1930s when the first James Rumsey Bridge was completed; that bridge was replaced with the current bridge in the mid-2000s. WV 48 was renumbered to WV 480 in the mid-1970s after U.S. Route 48 was established in West Virginia and Maryland.
Hancock is an unincorporated community hamlet in Morgan County in the U.S. state of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. It is located off Hancock Road on River Road along the Potomac River north of Berkeley Springs. Originally known as Brosius, its post office's name was changed to Hancock in 1948 to reflect its location on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad mainline across the river from Hancock, Maryland.
Cherry Run is a small unincorporated community hamlet located along the CSX Transportation mainline on the Potomac River in Morgan County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The community is named for the stream, Cherry Run, that meets the Potomac in its vicinity. It was originally known as Cherry Run Depot because of the important interchange between the B&O and the Western Maryland Railway located there.
Doe Gully is an unincorporated community along the Potomac River in Morgan County in the U.S. state of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. Located along the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad where it bisects a bend in the Potomac by way of the Randolph Tunnel, Doe Gully is only accessible by way of Doe Gulley Lane from Orleans Road. It is located southwest of Orleans Cross Roads. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park crosses the Potomac River onto the West Virginia side to Doe Gulley's west and it also lies directly across the river from it. Like most of the old B&O railroad stations and their communities, Doe Gully is popular with railfans.
Orleans Cross Roads is an unincorporated community hamlet that lies on the western flanks of Sideling Hill on the Potomac River in Morgan County, West Virginia. To its south, Rockwell Run, a mountain stream fed by springs, empties into the Potomac. Orleans Cross Roads lies along the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad directly across the river from Little Orleans. It is accessible by way of Orleans Road from Cacapon Road via Detour Road.
Ridersville is an unincorporated community between Berkeley Springs and Stohrs Crossroads along Martinsburg Road in Morgan County, West Virginia. It is located on Pious Ridge (804 ft) where Pious Ridge Road and Peter Yost Road intersect with WV 9. Ridersville sprang up in the 19th century as a small farming community along the Martinsburg Road with a general store. It had its own operating post office until it was closed in 1903 due to the community's proximity to Berkeley Springs. During its period as an independent agrarian town, it was known as Friendship, Rider Store, Riderville, and finally as Ridersville. Today, it is merely a growing residential area of Berkeley Springs.
Johnsons Mill is an unincorporated community in eastern Morgan County in the U.S. state of West Virginia on Johnson's Mill Road. It is centrally located between three other small rural hamlets along Sleepy Creek and is named for the "Johnson's Mill" that once operated here.
Holton is a small unincorporated community in northeastern Morgan County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Holton lies on Martinsburg Road at its junction with Cherry Run Road along Cherry Run and the Berkeley County line. Holton had its own post office in operation between 1889 and 1903.
Green Spring Run is an 8.9-mile-long (14.3 km) tributary stream of the North Branch Potomac River in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Green Spring Run rises in Greenwood Hollow north of Springfield and meanders northeast through Green Spring Valley. The South Branch Valley Railroad and Green Spring Road run parallel to the stream. It runs through the community of Green Spring, from which the stream takes its name. From Green Spring, Green Spring Run flows east where it reaches its confluence with the North Branch Potomac shortly before the North Branch joins with the South Branch Potomac River to form the Potomac River.
Hainesville is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. Hainesville is located southwest of Slanesville at the crossroads of Old Martinsburg Road and Kedron Road. Additionally, formerly known as Haines Store, Hainesville once had its own post office in operation.
U.S. Route 15 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Walterboro, South Carolina to Painted Post, New York. In Virginia, the U.S. Highway runs 230.37 miles (370.74 km) from the North Carolina state line near Clarksville north to the Maryland state line at the Potomac River near Lucketts. US 15 is a major north–south highway through the Piedmont of Virginia, connecting Clarksville and Farmville in Southside Virginia with Culpeper, Warrenton, and Leesburg in Northern Virginia.
In the U.S. state of West Virginia, Interstate 81 (I-81) crosses the Eastern Panhandle region, linking Virginia to Maryland. The Interstate Highway, completed in 1966, spans 26.00 miles (41.84 km) through Berkeley County, paralleling U.S. Route 11 (US 11) for its entire length. I-81 enters the state near Ridgeway and travels northeast, bypassing the city of Martinsburg, and leaves the state at the Potomac River, which serves as the state line. The first solicitations for the construction of I-81 were published in 1959, with the first 6 miles (9.7 km) of freeway being opened in 1963, and the full length was completed by 1966. On average between 45 and 60 thousand vehicles use the freeway through the panhandle per day.
In the U.S. state of West Virginia, U.S. Route 11 (US 11) spans 26.2 miles (42.2 km) across the Eastern Panhandle region. US 11 enters the state near Ridgeway, and crosses into Maryland just south of Williamsport. The highway closely parallels Interstate 81 (I-81) for its entire length.
U.S. Route 522 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Powhatan, Virginia to Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. In West Virginia, the U.S. highway runs 19.0 miles (30.6 km) from the Virginia state line near Ridge north to the Maryland state line at the Potomac River in Hancock just south of Hancock, Maryland. US 522 passes through Ridge and Valley Province of the Appalachian Mountains in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The portion of the U.S. highway in West Virginia serves to connect Winchester with Hancock via Berkeley Springs, the county seat of Morgan County. US 522 is part of the National Highway System for its entire length in West Virginia.
