A valley of northern Virginia between the Allegheny Mountains and the Blue Ridge. Drained by the Shenandoah River, about 241 km (150 mi) long, the valley was first explored in the early 1700s and was an important gateway to the frontier.
Shenandoah Valley
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Shen·an·do·ah Valley (shĕn'ən-dō'ə)  |
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| US Military Dictionary: Shenandoah Valley |
A section of the Great Appalachian Valley, located primarily in Virginia. Campaigns occurred there in the Civil War between July 1861 and March 1865 in a struggle to control this important region. The South used the transportation advantages of the valley so well that it often became for the North the “valley of humiliation” until late in the war, when the Union defeated Confederate control. Advances by both sides threatened the other side's capitals in Richmond and Washington.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Shenandoah Valley |
For more information on Shenandoah Valley, visit Britannica.com.
| US History Encyclopedia: Shenandoah Valley |
Shenandoah Valley is located in Northern Virginia between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains and is divided by the Massanutten Mountains. The valley is defined by the Shenandoah River, which flows 150 miles northeastward from Lexington, Virginia, to the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The valleys, formed on limestone, produced fertile soils that attracted European settlement by 1717. The northern part was settled by Tidewater Anglicans, the central part by Protestant Germans, and the southern part by Presbyterian Scots-Irish. By the American Revolution, agriculture was flourishing in the region. During the Civil War, the valley was known as the "Granary of the Confederacy" yet both sides contested the region and much was laid waste by General Philip Sheridan in 1864. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the valley is a beautiful rural landscape with prosperous farms and attractive towns.
Bibliography
Davis, Julia. The Shenandoah. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1945. From the excellent Rivers of America series.
Hart, Freeman Hansford. The Valley of Virginia in the American Revolution, 1763–1789. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1942.
Kercheval, Samuel. A History of the Valley of Virginia. Woodstock, Va.: W. N. Grabill, 1902. The original edition was published in 1833.
Mitchell, Robert D. Commercialism and Frontier: Perspectives on the Early Shenandoah Valley. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1977.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Shenandoah valley |
Shenandoah valley, part of the Great Valley of the Appalachians, c.150 mi (240 km) long, N Va., located between the Blue Ridge and the Allegheny mts. The valley is divided into two parts by Massanutten Mt., a ridge c.45 mi (70 km) long and c.3,000 ft (915 m) high. The Shenandoah River, c.150 mi (240 km) long, rises in two forks on either side of the ridge, uniting near Front Royal, Va., and flowing northeast to enter the Potomac at Harpers Ferry, W.Va. The Shenandoah valley was first explored in the early 1700s. The valley was an important corridor in the westward pioneer movement, and it became a rich agricultural area with farm-land, orchards, and pastures. During the Civil War, the valley was the ideal avenue of approach for the Southern invasion of the North, and it served as one of the Confederates' principal storehouses. Shenandoah figured in the “valley campaign” of Stonewall Jackson in 1862; Lee retreated through the valley after being checked in the Antietam campaign (1862) and the Gettysburg campaign (1863). By early 1865, the valley was completely lost to the South. The principal cities are Winchester, Front Royal, Staunton, and Waynesboro. The many recreational areas include Shenandoah National Park, in the surrounding uplands.
| Geography: Shenandoah Valley |
(shen-uhn-doh-uh)
A large, beautiful valley in northern Virginia, between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Allegheny Mountains.
- During the Civil War, it was the site of numerous battles because it served as one of the main sources of grain and fodder for the Confederacy.
| Wikipedia: Shenandoah Valley |
This article is about the Virginia valley region. For other uses, see Shenandoah.
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| Shenandoah Valley | |
|---|---|
 A view across the Shenandoah Valley |
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| Location | Virginia, West Virginia |
| Axis Direction | North-South |
| Geographic boundaries | Blue Ridge Mountains (east) Ridge and Valley Appalachians (west) Potomac River <north) James River (south) |
| Population Centers | Winchester Harrisonburg Staunton Lexington Martinsburg, West Virginia |
| Traversed by | U.S. Route 50, U.S. Route 33, U.S. Route 250, Interstate 64 |
| Transversed by | U.S. Route 11, Interstate 81 |
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bound to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians (excluding Massanutten Mountain), 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.
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Geography
Named for the river which stretches much of its length, the Shenandoah Valley encompasses eight counties in Virginia and two counties in West Virginia:
- Frederick County
- Clarke County,
- Warren County,
- Shenandoah County,
- Page County,
- Rockingham County,
- Augusta County
- Rockbridge County
- Berkeley County, West Virginia
- Jefferson County, West Virginia
In addition, the cultural region also includes five more counties in Virginia:
Between the Roanoke Valley in the south and Harpers Ferry in the north, where the Shenandoah River joins the Potomac, the Valley cultural region contains 10 independent cities:
- Winchester
- Harrisonburg
- Waynesboro
- Staunton
- Lexington
- Buena Vista
- Clifton Forge
- Covington
- Roanoke
- Salem
The central section of the Shenandoah Valley is split in half by the Massanutten Mountain range, with the smaller associated Page Valley lying to its east and the Fort Valley within the mountain range.
Notable caves
The Shenandoah Valley contains a number of geologically and historically significant limestone caves:
- Crystal Caverns
- Skyline Caverns
- Luray Caverns, designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974
- Shenandoah Caverns
- Endless Caverns
- Massanutten Caverns
- Grand Caverns, designated a National Natural Landmark in 1973
- Madison's Cave, visited by George Washington; mapped and published by Thomas Jefferson
- Dixie Caverns
Etymology
The word Shenandoah is of unknown Native American origin. It has been described as being derived from the Anglicization of Native American resulting in words such as: Gerando, Gerundo, Genantua, Shendo and Sherando. Likewise the meaning of these words is of some question. Schin-han-dowi, the "River Through the Spruces", On-an-da-goa, the "River of High Mountains" or "Silver-Water, and an Iroquois word for "Big Meadow" have all been proposed by Native American etymologists. Other beliefs are that it is derived from the name of the Iroquois Chief Sherando or an extent tribe, the Senedos. The most popular and romanticized belief is that it comes from a Native American expression for "Beautiful Daughter of the Stars." [1]
History
The Valley Pike (or Valley Turnpike) began as a migratory trail for tribes such as the Delaware and Catawba, who called it the Great Warriors Trail. Later colonists called it the Great Wagon Road, and it became the major thoroughfare for immigrants moving by wagons from Pennsylvania and northern Virginia into the backcountry of the South.
The road was macadamized prior to the Civil War and later refined and paved for motor vehicles. In the 20th century, the Valley Turnpike was a toll road. Then it was acquired by the Commonwealth of Virginia which incorporated it into the state highway system as U.S. Highway 11. For much of its length, the newer Interstate 81 parallels the old Valley Pike.
The Shenandoah Valley is a productive agricultural region. Despite the great promise of the rich farmland of the valley, colonial settlement from the east was mostly barred by the barrier of the Blue Ridge Mountains. They had been crossed by Governor Alexander Spotswood's legendary Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition at Swift Run Gap in 1716, but settlers did not follow.
Instead, the valley was first settled by German and then by Scots-Irish immigrants from Pennsylvania in the 1730s. The former were known as "Shenandoah Deitsch." Both stocks came south into the valley from the Potomac River. The Scots-Irish comprised the largest group of immigrants from the British Isles before the Revolutionary War, and most migrated into the backcountry of the South.[2] This was in contrast to the chiefly English immigrants who had settled the Virginia Tidewater and eastern Piedmont regions.
The Shenandoah Valley was known as the breadbasket of the Confederacy during the Civil War and seen as a back door for Confederate raids on Maryland, Washington and Pennsylvania. Because of its strategic importance it was the scene of three major campaigns. The first was the Valley Campaign of 1862, in which Confederate General Stonewall Jackson defended the valley against three numerically superior Union armies. The final two were the Valley Campaigns of 1864. First, in the summer of 1864, Confederate General Jubal Early cleared the valley of its Union occupiers and then proceeded to raid Maryland, Pennsylvania and D.C. Then during the fall, Union General Philip Sheridan was sent to drive Early from the valley and once-and-for-all destroy its use to the Confederates by putting it to the torch using scorched-earth tactics. The valley, especially in the lower northern section, was also the scene of bitter partisan fighting as the region's inhabitants were deeply divided over loyalties and Confederate partisan John Mosby and his Rangers frequently operated in the area.
In the late 20th century, the valley's vineyards began to reach maturity. They constituted the new industry of the Shenandoah Valley American Viticultural Area.
Transportation
Transportation in the Shenandoah Valley consists mainly of road and rail and contains several metropolitan area transit authorities. The main north-south road transportation is Interstate 81 which parallels the old Valley Turnpike (U.S. Route 11) through its course in the valley. In the lower valley, on the eastern side, U.S. Route 340 also runs north-south, starting from Waynesboro in the south, running through the Page Valley to Front Royal, and on to Harpers Ferry, where it exits the valley. Major east-west roads cross the valley as well, providing access to the Piedmont and the Allegheny Mountains. Starting from the north, these routes include: U.S. Route 50, U.S. Route 522, Interstate 66, U.S. Route 33, U.S. Route 250, Interstate 64, and U.S. Route 60.
CSX Transportation operates several rail lines through the valley, including the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the old Manassas Gap Railroad and the old Virginia Central Railroad. There are also more modern lines that run the length of the valley parallel to the Valley Pike and U.S. 340. The rail lines are primarily used for freight transportation, though Maryland Access Rail Commuter (MARC) trains utilize the old B&O line from stations in Martinsburg, Duffields, and Harper's Ferry to Washington Union Station and vice-versa.
Several localities in the valley also operate public transportation systems, including Front Royal Area Transit (FRAT), which provides weekday transit for the town of Front Royal; Page County Transit, providing weekday transit for the town of Luray and weekday service between Luray and Front Royal; and Winchester Transit, which provides weekday transit for the city of Winchester. In addition, Shenandoah Valley Commuter Bus Service offers weekday commuter bus service from the northern Shenandoah Valley, including Shenandoah County and Warren County, to Northern Virginia (Arlington County and Fairfax County) and Washington. Origination points in Shenandoah County include Woodstock. Origination points in Warren County include Front Royal and Linden.
See also
- 2003 Virginia earthquake
- Bridgewater College
- Buena Vista, Virginia
- Christendom College
- Eastern Mennonite University
- Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia
- Harrisonburg, Virginia
- James Madison University
- Lexington, Virginia
- Mary Baldwin College
- Natural Bridge (Virginia)
- Shenandoah University
- Southern Virginia University
- Valley Baseball League
- Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign
- Valley Campaigns of 1864
- Virginia Military Institute
- Washington and Lee University
References
External links
- Shenandoah Valley - Official state tourism website
- Visit Shenandoah website
- Shenandoah Valley Technology Council
- Shenandoah at War, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation
- CivilWarTraveler.com - Virginia's Valley and Mountains
- Valley Conservation Council
- USGS GNIS: Shenandoah Valley
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Mentioned in
- Winchester
- Battle of Cross Keys
- Fishers Hill (geographical area, Virginia)
- Port Republic (city, Virginia)
- Maryland Campaign
- Fairfax
- Shenandoah Valley AVA (wine-related term)
- Jackson, Thomas Jonathan (American Confederate general)
- California Shenandoah Valley AVA (wine-related term)
- Fiddletown AVA (wine-related term)
- Battle of Cedar Creek
- Cuvier Grover
- Battle of New Market
- Stonewall Brigade
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