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Around Town

Like many small towns, walking is the best way to appreciate Stras­burg, named by Germans who settled here by way of Pennsylvania. Only on foot can you discover the old-fashioned soda fountain at the pharmacy or the honor system book sale on the library’s front porch. A common sight is a tractor trundling through the business district at about 15 mph. At People’s Drug Store you can break from browsing the famous Strasburg pottery to have a snow cone at the old-fashioned soda counter. At Artz Hardware you can send a telegram, ship your purchase home, or get a hunting or fishing license, and of course, buy hardware.

Strasburg’s self-guided walking tour has 34 stops noting sites of early potteries and the fascinating former uses of existing buildings. Where now stands a Texaco Station is where a federal colonel returning from the Battle of Newmarket drew his revolver and committeed suicide. Union general Philip Sheridan left his linen sheets stamped “USA” when he stayed at the Massanutten Hotel (stop #10). In time they were cut up and embroidered to make tablemats. Today the building houses the Hi Neighbor restaurant, a favorite lunch place with the locals. The town is a rare diversity of architectural styles and periods spanning two centuries. Several present-day buildings have clapboards over the original logs.

German settlers first knew the settlement as Stony Lick, then Stauffer­stadt, and finally Strasburg, when it was established as a town in 1761. For the period of the French and Indian War, citizens of this frontier outpost suffered raids and death at the hands of French-allied Indians. Later, the countryside saw Confederates under command of Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson defeat Northern troops twice in 1862. Upon Signal Knob, the striking mountain that rises steeply southeast of town, Jackson’s famous mapmaker, Jedediah Hotchkiss, gained a bird’s-eye view that aided his cartography. It’s said he etched his initials in the rocks somewhere on the mountaintop.

First as a station on the Great Wagon Road, then as railroad depot, Strasburg prospered as a center of trade, in particular in the making of pottery. Production of folk pottery began in the 1760s and continues today in the form of the Shenandoah Potters Guild, whose members sell their work through local merchants. The nickname “Pot Town” began to stick after the Civil War due to the volume being produced. The Bell Pottery (1833-1908) produced some of the most sought-after pottery in the country, which still is today, with rare pieces bringing values in the five figures.

By 1900, Strasburg was served by two railroads and was a social hub for locals and travelers. It still is, for those lucky enough to get off I-81, which runs parallel to Route 11 (called King Street in town). Besides Pot Town, it’s also known as the “Antiques Capital of Virginia,” largely due to the Great Strasburg Antiques Emporium. With 1.4 acres of antiques and more than 100 dealers under one roof, it boasts being Virginia’s largest antiques store. (tel. 540-465-3711, 160 N. Massa­nutten Street)

CHURCHES: German was the predominant language in early Strasburg. From 1820 to the 1840s St. Paul’s Lutheran Church had two congregations, one English-speaking and the other clinging to German. Several of the town’s churches were used as hospitals during the Civil War; 137 unknown Confederate soldiers are buried behind the Presbyterian Church on High Street.

Other Attractions

The Museum of American Presidents displays Presidential memorabilia privately collected over a 60-year period. A children’s area has hands-on activities, costumes to try on and toys. Leo Bernstein, a local entrepreneur and history buff has collected autographs from half the signers of the Declaration of Indendence and most of our presidents. Open daily, 10 am-5 pm, May-October; for the rest of the year, open Friday-Sunday, 10 am-5 pm. $3 adults; $2 children ages six and older and for seniors. (130 N. Massanutten Street, tel. 540-465-5999, www.way­sideofva.com/presidents)

The Strasburg Museum is housed