City Tour of Winchester VA

Winchester and Frederick County, at the top of the Shenandoah Valley and Virginia, was once Shawnee Indian camping grounds to which Pennsylvania Quakers came to settle in 1732. Today the population of the city is approximately 21,000 and the county is 35,000. The town was named Frederick Town after Frederick, father of George III of England. In 1752 the name was changed to Winchester in honor of the ancient English capital.

In the mid-1700's, Frederick County became the military and political training ground for George Washington, who came here at the age of sixteen to survey the lands of Thomas, the Sixth lord Fairfax. Washington built Fort Loudoun during the French and Indian War and, at twenty-six, was elected to his first public office as the county's representative to the House of Burgesses.

During the Revolutionary War, Daniel Morgan's Rifleman from Frederick County were among the first who came to Washington's aid against the British. War prisoners were housed in Winchester and the neighboring countryside.

Winchester was a strategic prize of great importance during the Civil War. In Confederate hands, on excellent roads to the north and east, Mt. Hebron Monumentit was a serious threat to the supply lines of the Union armies trying to reach Richmond - the heart of the Confederacy. In the hands of the Union army, Winchester made Confederate raids and invasion of the north risky and opened a protected avenue for Union troop movements south through a valley from which they could attack on the flanks and rear of Lee's main armies. Thus, Winchester and Frederick County became the scene of six battles during the Civil War, and the city itself changed flags around seventy times during the four year conflict, it is said thirteen times in one day. General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson demonstrated his military leadership in the Valley Campaign. WInchester was familiar to him not only as a military objective, but also as his home during the winter of 1861-1862. Here he enjoyed the companionship of his wife for the last winter. His headquarters is located on North Braddock Street and is open in the spring and summer months.

In Winchester and Frederick County the visitor will see many relics of the area's history: the tomb of Lord Fairfax in the yard of Christ Episcopal Church; the home and grave of General Daniel Morgan, hero of the Revolutionary War; George Washington's headquarters: the headquarters of "Stonewall" Jackson: the headquarters of the Union General Philip Sheridan,Confederate Statue from which he started his 12 mile ride on October 19, 1864, to rally his retreating army at Cedar Creek- the ride made famous by Thomas Buchanon Read's poem, "Sheridan's Ride"; the Hollingsworth house, Abram's Delight, built in 1754 and now completely furnished with relics of the 18th century; houses of the Revolutionary era; the National Cemetery and the Confederate Cemetery with thousands of heros graves; the ruins of an old church used as barracks during the Revolutionary War; the Hopewell Meeting House, established in 1734: Belle Grove Plantation, 1794; and many others.

The Wayside Theatre at Middletown, Virginia, presents a fine repertoire of plays during a long summer and early fall season. Shenandoah University also offers summer and winter theatre seasons.

Each spring Winchester plays host for four days to over 250,000 visitors who converge upon the town to witness the famous Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, usually held the first few days in May. Winchester also hosts the world's largest Fireman's parade the friday before the main event.

Winchester has long been known as the "Apple Capital" surrounded as it is by vast orchards and constituting one of the largest apple export markets of the nation and the largest producing area in Virginia.

Winchester, founded in 1744, is the oldest Virginia city west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Located at the northern entrance of the Shenandoah Valley, the City encompasses 9.3 sq. miles and is the medical, industrial, commercial and agricultural center for the surrounding areas. The city has a population of approximately 23,000 with 6,600 single family homes and over 3,500 multi-family dwellings.

Winchester Links
City of Winchester
Winchester Public Schools
Winchester Chamber of Commerce