Shenandoah County (Va.) -- History

The Copp’s Schoolhouse Notebook and Ledger, 1867-1908, is comprised of one bound volume of notes on Dr. Benjamin Mosby Smith’s lectures; the constitution, by-laws, and meeting minutes of the Johnsonian Lyceum (meetings were held at Copp’s Schoolhouse in Maurertown, Virginia which was located in the Johnson Magisterial District); and unrelated personal property lists of Shenandoah County residents.

The Henkel Family Papers, 1801-2008, document the influential Henkel family of Rockingham and Shenandoah counties in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The collection, primarily documenting the Siram and Margaret Koiner Henkel line of the family, is comprised of correspondence, personal and financial papers, and genealogical research materials. The Renalds family is heavily documented in the 2023 accession materials.

Research materials and topical files pertaining to Shenandoah Valley folk culture including recipes, cures for ailments, folklore stories, and other traditions gathered and documented by John G. Stewart and Elmer Smith, former professors at Madison College (James Madison University).

The John H. Grabill Papers, 1843-1981 (bulk 1894-1922), contain a variety of items including business documents, personal correspondence, and ephemera relating to John H. Grabill, the Grabill family of Shenandoah County, and the Shenandoah Herald.

The Strickler Family Papers, 1887-1928, primarily comprise correspondence written by members of the Strickler family originally of Page County, Virginia who had relocated to Washington and Nevada. Reuben Thomas Strickler of Page County is the primary recipient of the correspondence. A travel diary documents a 1928 trip from New Market, Virginia to California and back.

The Walton and Walton Law Firm Records, 1859-1900, consist primarily of client correspondence, notes, summaries of legal cases (including Walton vs. Williams, Allen vs. Walton), and the settlement of the Jacob Dinges Estate of Woodstock, VA. Several documents in this collection involve John Edwin Roller, 1845-1918, lawyer, soldier, lecturer, and antiquarian of Rockingham County.

The William Hoyle Garber Photographs, 1930-1960, comprise approximately 1625 negatives and 70 prints that were taken and developed by William Garber of Garber’s Photo Shop in Mount Jackson, Virginia. The photographs document the people, places, industries, automobiles, sports, events, disasters, etc., of the central and northern Shenandoah Valley (primarily between the cities of Harrisonburg and Woodstock).