Winchester is the northwesternmost independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 28,120. It is the principal city of the Winchester metropolitan area extending into West Virginia, which is a part of the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area. Winchester is home to Shenandoah University and the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.
Stephens City is an incorporated town in the southern part of Frederick County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 2,016 at the time of the 2020 census, and an estimated population of 2,096 in 2022. Founded by Peter Stephens in the 1730s, the colonial town was chartered and named for Lewis Stephens in October 1758. It was originally settled by German Protestants from Heidelberg. Stephens City is the second-oldest municipality in the Shenandoah Valley after nearby Winchester, which is about 5 mi (8 km) to the north. "Crossroads", the first free black community in the Valley in the pre-Civil War years, was founded east of town in the 1850s. Crossroads remained until the beginning of the Civil War when the freed African Americans either escaped or were recaptured. Stephens City was saved from intentional burning in 1864 by Union Major Joseph K. Stearns. The town has gone through several name changes in its history, starting as "Stephensburg", then "Newtown", and finally winding up as "Stephens City", though it nearly became "Pantops". Interstate 81 and U.S. Route 11 pass close to and through the town, respectively.
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 moved north through the Shenandoah Valley in the direction of Pennsylvania, his corps defeated the Union Army garrison commanded by Major General Robert H. Milroy, capturing Winchester and numerous Union prisoners.
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 in downtown Alexandria. Its route largely parallels those of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail and the Potomac River. Between its western terminus and Interstate 395 (I-395), SR 7 is part of the National Highway System. In 1968, the Virginia State Highway Commission designated the road as the "Harry Flood Byrd Highway" between Alexandria and Winchester to commemorate Harry F. Byrd Sr. (1887–1966).
Bluemont is an unincorporated village in Loudoun County, Virginia located at the eastern base of Snickers Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The village's center is located along Snickersville Turnpike, 4 miles (6.4 km) west of the incorporated town of Round Hill. The village borders Virginia's fox hunting country and is within 1 mile (1.6 km) of the Appalachian Trail and the Bears Den and Raven Rocks formations in the Blue Ridge.
Alexander White was a distinguished early American lawyer and politician in the present-day U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. He served in the House of Burgesses, the Virginia House of Delegates (representing Frederick County and later Berkeley County. During the American Revolutionary War, White facilitated the release of Quaker and Hessian civilian prisoners held by patriots. White also participated in the Virginia Ratifying Convention and became the northwestern Virginia district's inaugural member in the United States House of Representatives. United States President George Washington appointed White one of the commissioners responsible for the planning and construction of Washington, D.C..
Clear Brook is an unincorporated farming community in northern Frederick County, Virginia. The community lies approximately six miles north of the county seat of Winchester along Martinsburg Pike. It is the site of the Kenilworth home, once owned by Harry K. Thaw, the old Hopewell Meeting House, Stonewall Elementary School, the Clearbrook Park, and the Frederick County Fairgrounds.
Opequon is an unincorporated community along Opequon Creek in Frederick County, Virginia. Opequon is located on Cedar Creek Grade at Miller Road and also known as Kernstown, Virginia. The community of Opequon was designated a National Historic District in 2002. Opequon School, which was in operation from 1884 to 1934, remains standing on Glass Spring Road in town. Also on Glass Spring Road is the Second Opequon Presbyterian Church. Home to Opequon Quaker Camp on brucetown road.
Loudoun County, Virginia, was destined to be an area of significant military activity during the American Civil War. Located on Virginia's northern frontier, the Potomac River, Loudoun County became a borderland after Virginia's secession from the Union in early 1861. Loudoun County's numerous Potomac bridges, ferries and fords made it an ideal location for the Union and Confederate armies to cross into and out of Virginia. Likewise, the county's several gaps in the Blue Ridge Mountains that connected the Piedmont to the Shenandoah Valley and Winchester were of considerable strategic importance. The opposing armies would traverse the county several times throughout the war leading to several small battles, most notably the Battle of Ball's Bluff.
James Wood High School is located at the northern tip of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, Virginia and is a part of the Frederick County Public School system. It is located at 161 Apple Pie Ridge Road.
Linden is an unincorporated community in Fauquier and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located west of Washington, D.C. at exit 13 off of Interstate 66.
The city of Winchester, Virginia, and the surrounding area, were the site of numerous battles during the American Civil War, as contending armies strove to control the lower Shenandoah Valley. Winchester changed hands more often than any other Confederate city.
Frederick County Public Schools is a public school system run for the residents of Frederick County, Virginia.
The Affair at Glenmore Farm was a small cavalry skirmish that took place October 16, 1862 in Loudoun County, Virginia between Confederate forces under First Lieutenant Frank Myers and Union forces under General John Geary during the American Civil War. The skirmish resulted in a Union victory.
Hopewell Friends Meeting House is an 18th-century Quaker meeting house located the northern Frederick County, Virginia one mile west of the community of Clear Brook at 604 Hopewell Road. Clear Brook, VA 22624. This community was the home of Thomas William "Tom" Fox (1951–2006), a Quaker peace activist, affiliated with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) murdered in 2006 in Iraq.
Old Chapel is a historic Episcopal church building located near Millwood, Clarke County, Virginia. Old Chapel is now the oldest Episcopal church building still in use west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. In 2014, the Chapel Rural Historic District was recognized, and which encompasses both Cunningham parish churches, discussed below, as well as approximately 700 other structures and an area of nearly 10,500 acres.
The Carolina Road or the "Old Carolina Road" are names for various sections of the Great Wagon Road and other routes in colonial America. "The 'Old Carolina Road', extending from Lancaster, Pennsylvania to the Yadkin Valley, was one of the most heavily traveled roads in eighteenth century America." Parts of the 180-mile-long (290 km) Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area scenic byway follow the Old Carolina Road through Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.
Rebecca McPherson Wright Bonsal was an American Quaker teacher who was fired for her Unionist loyalty. She delivered important intelligence to the Union Army during the American Civil War, which helped Union Generals Philip Sheridan and George Crook defeat Confederate General Jubal Early in the crucial Third Battle of Winchester in September, 1864.
Nineveh is an unincorporated community in Warren County, Virginia, on the main road between Winchester, Virginia, and Front Royal, Virginia. Prior to the creation of Warren County in 1836, Nineveh was in Frederick County, Virginia. A post office at Nineveh operated from the early 1800s until closing in 1954.
