The Historic Page Valley
Scenic Virginia Highlight
Laying within the larger Shenandoah Valley, the Page Valley is bounded on the east by the Blue Ridge and on the west by the Massanutten Mountain. The Page Valley's early European settlers were Pennsylvania Germans who brought their farming practices and architecture with them. Their sturdy log or stone houses with exposed vaulted cellar rooms were often called "forts," although there is no evidence of defensive use, and the settlers also built large bank barns into hillsides. The valley's rich bottomlands supported crops of wheat, corn, oats, rye, and barley. Livestock included poultry, sheep, hogs, and cattle.
The millstone to your left is one of Overall's industrial artifacts. Gristmills, sawmills, and ironworks were among the Page Valley's earliest industries. The valley's first iron furnace was built in 1760. Flatboats on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River transported both agricultural and industrial goods to market. Until the mid-twentieth century, a ferry at Overall provided access across the river.
In 1851, several local roads on the eastern side of the river were widened, graded, and chartered as the Luray and Front Royal Turnpike. Early in the 1880s, the Shenandoah Valley Railroad, a precursor of today's Norfolk Southern Railroad, was constructed parallel to the turnpike. It soon replaced both river and road as the primary transportation mode for freight. In the 1930s, to accommodate the growth of automobile traffic, the turnpike was redesigned and rebuilt with earth-moving equipment powered by both mules and engines. Today U.S. Route 340 follows the turnpike's corridor.
Marker is at the intersection of Stonewall Jackson Highway (U.S. 340) and Overall Road, on the right when traveling north on Stonewall Jackson Highway.
Courtesy hmdb.org
