The Factory Antique Mall first opened its doors in 1996, starting out more as a flea market where antiques were only a part of a large variety of curios offered for sale. General Manager Jason Brinkley says that it soon became apparent that specializing in antiques made good business sense. Time has proved his thinking to be correct.
Since then, the Factory Antique Mall has grown into a huge mall-style operation that now covers 90,000 square feet of indoor space. It now consists of a group of independent vendors who offer the largest selection of antiques and collectibles in the Shenandoah Valley and Brinkley says that it's one of the largest antique malls on the east coast.
John Morman first heard the name “Stonewall Jackson” when he was a very young schoolboy living in Scotland. He'd always been interested in history, particularly the American Civil War. Years later, after moving to the U.S., he had acquired a downtown Lexington, Virginia retail shop, and it at first did not occur to him that he now lived in Gen. Thomas Jackson's home town, and that Stonewall Jackson was in fact buried there.
If he hadn't been taken under wing by the Virginia Wildlife Center just after he was born, Buzz probably would have never survived. 
The annual Highland Maple Festival was started by the Highland County Chamber of Commerce in 1958 as a way to promote the county's quality maple syrup. Each second and third weekend in March, hoards of people descend on the normally sleepy little county seat of Monterey. Highland county is a breathtakingly-beautiful, mountainous western Virginia county, often referred to as “Virginia's Switzerland.” It's also one of the least-populated counties in the east and boasts one of the highest mean elevations of any county east of the Mississippi River. 
Shenandoah National Park Superintendent Martha Bogle announced on March 11 that the 12-space “upper lot” on the park boundary at the Ridge Trailhead access for one of the parks most popular hiking and climbing attractions, Old Rag Mountain, will be permanently closed to public vehicle access and parking. 
E. Montel was a Frenchman who, in 1860, rolled into Harrisonburg, Va. and started talking to the locals about his new idea. He called it “a new method of painting.” But what Montel was actually talking about was photography, and his new method may have not been as new as he thought. 
It was not the December and January snow storms that caused problems for Highland County maple syrup producer Glen Heatwole. Even in January there was hope for the thaw so that they could soon be back up on the mountain ridges to tap the maple trees. By the end of February, however, it was snow, snow and more snow.
The 150th anniversary commemoration of the American Civil War kicked off last year in the Shenandoah Valley in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. That's where slavery abolitionist John Brown unsuccessfully raided a federal armory on Oct. 16, 1859, an act some say was the actual beginning of the war between the states.
As people continue to dig themselves out of Winter's snowfalls, there's a good chance that they may not be quite ready to think about a trip to a Shenandoah Valley farmers market. But one farmers market here in the Shenandoah Valley will be ready for them when they are. 
When early American settlers followed the Great Valley Road through what was then a frontier to the West, many just stopped to settle in the Shenandoah Valley. They brought with them diverse European styles and skills that influenced whatever they built or handcrafted. The melting pot of cultural influences can be easily seen in Valley furniture designs. The latest Changing Exhibition Gallery exhibit at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley is a collection of wooden chairs that represent the Valley's regional woodworking styles in the late 1700s and 1800s.
The Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park is gearing up for expanded visitor services that include interpretive programs led by National Park Service rangers. Park Ranger Eric A. Campbell, one of three rangers tasked with developing new programs at the park, says that the new programs could begin as early as next June. The park has been in existence since 2002, when a partnership was formed to join a 3,700-acre district that includes the Belle Grove Plantation and the Cedar Creek Battlefield.
The CrossRoads Heritage Center, also known as the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center is a must-see for Valley visitors, particularly people who wish to learn more about how the Valley was settled.