The name conjures up images of rolling green farmland, beautiful old barns and the legendary Shenandoah River that winds north to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. They had migrated south from Maryland and Pennsylvania seeking fertile, cheap land and greater freedom for themselves and their children. Original barns and homesteads dot the landscape of the valley, and many museums along Interstate 81, including the Woodstock Museum in Shenandoah County, the Shenandoah Valley Folk Art Museum and Heritage Center in Dayton and the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, give visitors a closer look at the daily lives of these rugged pioneers. Some of the heaviest fighting of the Civil War took place in the valley, and many of the war's hardiest soldiers hailed from here.
All classes mingle in the ranks, and all ages. . . .
They were a mountain people, nurtured in a wholesome climate, bred to manly sports, and hardened by the free life of the field and forest. To social distinctions they gave little heed. They were united for a common purpose. The valley is also the burial place of many heroes of that terrible war. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were laid to rest in Lexington.