door shrine where the
Episcopal Church holds regular and impressive services during the Summer
months--Shrinemont.

Stephens City

An act of the General Assembly in 1758 made Stephens City, or
Stephensburg as it was then known, the second town in the Valley. The
first was Winchester. Lewis Stephens the founder of this town came to
Virginia with Joist Hite in 1732.

Later on this was a thriving town manufacturing the Newtown-Stephensburg
wagon that was the pride of teamsters who travelled all roads leading
south and west. They took merchandise into the wilderness and returned
with furs, skins and other products sent back by those settlers who had
pushed on farther into the wilds of Virginia. Many a covered wagon which
saw the plains of the Middle West had its birth in Stephensburg.

When the Forty-Niners created companies which sent supplies to the gold
fields of California they found that few wagons lasted more than six
months. At last they began to order those being made in Stephensburg.
These were found to be sturdier in build and could stand the strain of
the rough roads and paths longer than other wagons on the market.

The stores in the town were good ones, and often covered wagons came in
drawn by splendid horses. The drivers of these teams put up overnight at
the old taverns and many of the citizens gathered after supper to hear
the news of what was going on in Alexandria or in Tennessee. The drivers
would be called personal shoppers today, for they brought lists of
articles to be carried back into the far-off country for the convenience
of the homesteaders there. The lists probably included sugar, tea and
coffee, cloth by the bolt and household articles. You can imagine the
joy with which the covered wagons would be sighted days later!

During Jackson's Valley Campaign the village was known as Newtown and
mention is made in this book of fighting in the neighborhood.

Today the main industry centers around lime which is found in large
quantities close by.

Middletown

As an early village this was known as Senseny Town, in honor of the
doctor by that name who owned the land. In 1795 it was called
Middletown. Long ago it was a manufacturing town and was noted for the
fine clocks and watches which were splendid time-keepers for the
punctual and thrifty Valley folk. In fact, the demands for them came
from far and near. The old wooden wheels were first used, then brass was
introduced and the