Weekend to host live entertainment and building tours

By Linwood Outlaw III -- Daily Staff Writer

STEPHENS CITY — Residents are being invited to take part in a slew of events honoring Stephens City's 250th anniversary as part of the town's Founder's Day weekend.

The celebration will be held Saturday and Sunday, and will feature activities ranging from tours of historic buildings to live musical entertainment.

"We're hoping a lot of people will come. ... There's just a variety of things to see," Town Manager Mike Kehoe said, adding that preparations for the event began more than a year ago.

The festivities begin at 9 a.m. Saturday with a four-hour community health fair at the Stephens City Mennonite Church at 5540 Valley Pike.

Town officials will also unveil the "Stephensburgh" painting by resident Dot Henkle. Prints of a circa 1758 view of early Stephens City will be available at the Newtown History Center at 5408 Main St.

"It's going to be an idealistic picture of what Stephens City would have looked like in the 1700s," Kehoe said.

A walking tour of the town's historic district will begin at the history center at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The town Fire and Rescue Company will also host an open house and barbecue at the fire hall at 5346 Mulberry St. Various other exhibits and demonstrations — including Colonial and Civil War artifacts, archaeological sites and the Stonehouse Museum — will be on display throughout the day.

On Sunday, meanwhile, there will be a book signing from 1 to 5 p.m. at the history center of "Images of America: Stephens City," a book that tells the story of the town's history through vintage photographs. The book was developed by Stephens City Town Council member Linden A. Fravel and history center director Byron C. Smith.

A puppet show will be held at the history center beginning at 1:30 p.m., and a tour of historic homes and churches will be given from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets for the tours are available at the history center. Museums, demonstrations and exhibits will also be on display from noon to 4 p.m.

Stephens City, originally called Stephensburgh, was born on Oct. 12, 1758, when Lt. Gov. Francis Fauquier of the royal colony of Virginia approved a set of wartime bills passed by the state House of Burgesses. Among those bills was an act for erecting a town on the land of Lewis Stephens in Frederick County.

The town's origins date back to the 1730s, when an immigrant named Peter Stephens built his homestead on land that would eventually become part of the far southern end of the town. Through the years, the town endured wars, modern changes in transportation, economic downturns, and a forced name change. Stephens City is the second-oldest town in the Shenandoah Valley.

For more information on the Founder's Day event, call the town office at 869-3087 or visit www.stephenscity.vi.virginia.gov. You can also call the Newtown History Center 869-1700.

* Contact Linwood Outlaw III at loutlaw@nvdaily.com