Stephens City, Virginia Stephens City, Virginia Location in Frederick County, Virginia Location in Frederick County, Virginia Stephens City, Virginia is positioned in the US Stephens City, Virginia - Stephens City, Virginia Stephens City (/ sti v nz/ stee-v nz) is an incorporated town in the southern part of Frederick County, Virginia, United States, with a populace of 1,829 at the time of the 2010 Census.
In 2014, it was estimated that the populace of Stephens City had risen to 1,921.
Founded by Peter Stephens in the 1730s, the colonial town was chartered and titled for Lewis Stephens in October 1758.
Stephens City is the second-oldest municipality in the Shenandoah Valley after close-by Winchester, which is about 5 miles (8 km) to the north.
Stephens City was saved from intentional burning in 1864 by Union Major Joseph K.
The town has gone through a several name shifts in its history, starting as Stephensburg, then Newtown, and finally winding up as Stephens City, though it almost became Pantops.
A large section of the center of the town, including buildings and homes, covering 65 acres (26 ha), is part of the Newtown-Stephensburg Historic District and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Stephens City jubilated its 250th anniversary on October 12, 2008.
The town is a part of the Winchester, Virginia-West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area, an offshoot of the Washington Baltimore Northern Virginia, DC MD VA WV Combined Statistical Area.
Jost Hite, a German immigrant, purchased a large territory grant in the northern Shenandoah Valley in 1731. Peter Stephens and a small party of German Protestants from Heidelberg, in the Palatinate, appeared about 1732 to buy and settle that land, including the site of what became Stephens City, titled for the Stephens family. Although Hite's title to the territory was challenged by Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, the territory baron of the area, the matter was settled amicably. Town lots were laid out beginning in 1754, and on September 21, 1758, Lewis Stephens petitioned the colonial government of Virginia in Williamsburg for a town charter. The Virginia General Assembly allowed the charter for the town of "Stephensburgh" on October 12, 1758. The mostly German-speaking inhabitants soon left off the "h"; the town was usually spelled "Stephensburg".
Shenandoah Valley and Newtown's central locale thriving heavy traffic through the region, and wagon-making emerged as an meaningful industry for the town; Newtown artisans supplied wagons throughout the state. By 1830, the town's populace had reached 800. In the late 1850s, no-charge blacks began a settlement about a mile east of town which became known as Crossroads or Freetown, which lasted until the time of the American Civil War.
The Stone House, along Main Street in Stephens City, assembled in the late 1700s.
Although the barns improved the small-town economy, which had lagged after the end of the war, it decimated the wagon-building trade. In 1880, the United States Post Office Department, faced with almost a dozen Newtowns in Virginia, reported that the small-town postal service would be retitled Pantops.
The 20th century brought improvements to energy and domestic systems: electrical service was introduced in 1915; and in 1941, just before World War II, the town installed a water system. The assembly of Interstate 81 (I-81) amid the early 1960s depressed company development in the town.
The town surveyed its older buildings to establish architectural significance and to determine those that contributed to the town's historic center.
The Newtown-Stephensburg Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in August 1992. Renovation of the town center has thriving tradition tourism.
Anticipating more growth, the town took in 360 acres (1.5 km2) of unincorporated Frederick County in 2005, another 100 acres (0.4 km2) in 2006, and 175 acres (0.7 km2) in 2007. The town jubilated its 250th anniversary on October 12, 2008. Virginia school systems had practiced resistance following the United States Supreme Court ruling in Brown v.
Board of Education (1954) that segregated enhance schools were unconstitutional. The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia organized Frederick County schools desegregated (including those serving Stephens City) in Brown v.
Watson was voted for as the first African American to serve on the Stephens City Town Council. Watson served for one term from 1994 until 1998. It caused roughly $1 million in damage and injured two citizens . It was one of a record 40 tornadoes to hit northern Virginia that day. The town is positioned between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in close adjacency to West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
Stephens City is positioned in the humid subtropical climate zone (Koppen climate classification: Cfa), exhibiting four diverse seasons. Its climate is typical of Mid-Atlantic U.S.
The town is positioned in plant hardiness zone 7 throughout the town and encircling Frederick County, indicating a temperate climate. Spring and fall are warm, with low humidity, while winter is cool, with annual snow flurry averaging 15.0 inches (38 cm). Average winter lows tend to be around 30 F ( 1 C) from mid-December to mid-February.
Blizzards affect Stephens City on average once every four to six years.
While hurricanes (or their remnants) occasionally track through the region in late summer and early fall, they have often weakened by the time they reach Stephens City, partly due to the city's far inland location.
Climate data for Stephens City, Virginia As of the 2010 United States Census, the populace of Stephens City was 1,829 citizens in 743 homeholds, and 447 families living in the town.
Of the 743 homeholds in 2010, 28.8% had kids under the age of 18 residing with them, 38.5% were married couples residing together, 14.4% had a female homeholder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 27.8% of all homeholds were made up of individuals and 24.1% had someone residing alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average homehold size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.06. The age distribution was 24.1% under 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 35.6 years. The median income for a homehold in the town was $51,944, and the median income for a family was $66,442. In 2009, working males had a median income of $31,875 versus $35,461 for working females. In 2009, the per capita income for the town/city was $20,581. The economy of Stephens City features a several industries.
According to the 2000 United States Census, the industries in the town (by percentage of working civilian populace 16 years and over) were manufacturing at 20.4%, educational, community and civil services with 19.9%, retail trade at 12.8%, arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services with 9.0%, assembly at 8.0%, other services (except enhance administration) with 6.8%, transportation, warehousing, and utilities at 4.6%, enhance administration with 3.9%, professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services at 3.7%, finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing with 3.4%, wholesale trade at 3.4%, knowledge with 2.2% and agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and quarrying at 1.9%. Of the citizens in the workforce force in the town over the age of 16, the majority, 597 citizens or 66.1% of the population, were in the civilian work force, while 306 citizens , or 33.9%, of the populace were not in the workforce force at all.
The median homehold income for the town of Stephens City was $35,200, with the majority, 126 persons, or 24.8%, of the populace in that class of income.
View of Newtown Commons, positioned along Main Street (US 11) in Stephens City The Family Drive-In Theatre, positioned south of Stephens City Town inhabitants have access to two parks inside town limits: Newtown Commons and Bel Air Street Park.
Just outside Stephens City is Sherando Park.
The park homes a several trails, ponds, a pool, sports fields and more. Sherando Park is also home of the Virginia Tech Memorial Garden, planted in memory of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, which took place roughly 175 miles (282 km) from the park.
The Family Drive-In Theatre, a two-screen drive-in theater, is positioned near the town, on U.S.
Route 11 just south of Stephens City. It is one of ten drive-ins in the state of Virginia. The theatre converted to all-digital in 2013. Stephens City plays host to the annual "Newtown Heritage Festival" held each Memorial Day weekend.
Stephens City is one of the suburbs along the Route 11 Yard Crawl.
A annual event held amid the second Saturday in August, the Yard Crawl is an nearly 50-mile-long (80 km) yard sale that stretches from Stephens City's Newtown Commons south along U.S.
Route 11 to New Market, Virginia. The event is sponsored by the Shenandoah County Chamber Advisory Group, five chambers of commerce, and the town of Stephens City. The Town Government Offices of Stephens City are positioned along Locust Street.
In 2010, the head of Stephens City's government was Mayor Joy B.
Shull, a former member of the Town Council, who was voted for in an unopposed May 4 election, and served four years as mayor. Shull succeeded Ray E.
Ewing, who had served since 1994, and retired at the end of his term. The representative body of Stephens City is known as the Town Council, whose members (as of November 2012) include Ronald Bowers, Linden A.
Dilg. Dilg was voted for in a May 4, 2010, election to succeed Michael Grim, who left the Town Council at the end of his term. Shull's replacement on Town Council was originally to be decided at a May 5, 2010, Town Council meeting but was not reported until June 29, 2010, when Joseph Grayson was officially titled to fill Shull's seat. On November 6, 2012, Joseph Hollis, Joseph Grayson and Ronald Bowers were all reelected to the Stephens City Town Council. Council member James Harter resigned on December 31, 2013, as he had moved outside of the town limits. The town council voted to appoint Jason Nauman to fill Harter's position on February 4, 2014. Mayor Shull-Gellner reported in late July that she would be retiring after 34 years working for and with the town. Her last day with the town is on July 31. Town councilwoman Martha Dilg was assigned mayor on September 2, 2014. In the November 4, 2014 election, Regina Swygert-Smith replaced Martha Dilg on the town's council.
As of 2014, the town is served by Police Chief Charles Bockey and Fire Chief Greg Locke, both of whom are on the town's Public Safety Committee. The town is served by five other committees: the Administrative Committee, the Personnel Committee, the Water and Sewer Committee, the Public Works Committee, and the Finance Committee. The members of those five committees are composed of Town Council members. Stephens City is represented by Mark Berg (Republican) in the Virginia House of Delegates 29th District. Jill Holtzman Vogel (Republican) represents the town in the Virginia Senate's 27th District. The town is represented by Frank R.
House of Representatives from Virginia's 10th district. Barbara Comstock (Republican) will replace Wolf on January 3, 2015, as part of the 114th United States Congress. Tim Kaine (Democrat) and Mark Warner (Democrat) represent the town in the United States Senate. Frederick County Public Schools operate the enhance schools that serve Stephens City, although none are positioned inside Stephens City proper; enhance schools that serve Stephens City are inside a mile of the town limits.
Shenandoah Valley Christian Academy is positioned at the northern section of the town limits. Powhatan School is in close-by Boyce in Clarke County, Virginia. Other lesser private or Christian-based schools are positioned throughout Frederick County and elsewhere in the area.
Route 11 traverses Stephens City proper, while Interstate 81 serves as the easterly border of the town. Stephens City serves as the end of State Route 277, which begins at U.S.
Route 11 and ends only 4.72 miles (7.60 km) away in Double Tollgate, Clarke County, Virginia, at U.S.
Plans are in place to move State Route 277 to near The Family Drive-In Theatre, 0.50 miles (0.80 km) south of its current end with US Route 11 with the easterly end remaining at its current location. The prepared assembly will also move the I-81 interchange at Stephens City, where there are a number of service stations and fast food restaurants, south of the town limits to alleviate congestion on the current Route 277 bridge, which will remain after assembly is completed.
Planners expect expansion of Stephens City to the south. Trinity Lutheran Church along Fairfax Street in Stephens City The earliest ordered theological services in Stephens City began in 1790s when a Methodist Episcopal church was created in the town. The first church structure, the "Methodist Episcopal Church in Stephensburg", dates from 1791.
The current Stephens City United Methodist Church was constructed near that historic site. As of 2010, inside the town limits are congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and United Methodist Church as well as those of the Baptist, Mennonite, Pentecostal, Charismatic Episcopal and Full Gospel denominations of Christianity. Just south of the town limits is a Unitarian Universalist church. A Roman Catholic church affiliated with the Diocese of Arlington and a Jewish Jewish church, which each function as centers for their respective members in the entire Shenandoah Valley, are positioned roughly 5 miles (8.0 km) north in Winchester. "Town of Stephens City".
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Stephens City This audio file was created from a revision of the "Stephens City, Virginia" article dated December 7, 2010, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article.
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Municipalities and communities of Frederick County, Virginia, United States Virginia Towns in Virginia
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Stephens City, Virginia - Towns in Frederick County, Virginia - Towns in Virginia - Populated places established in 1758 - 1758 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies
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