Stephens City

History

The area surrounding present-day Stephens City was originally inhabited for 12,000 years by Native Americans, including the Susquehannock, Lenape, Tuscarora, Catawba, Iroquois, and Cherokee. One of the largest groups, the Shawnee, had already left the area when European settlement began. The tribes that did remain were initially peaceful towards the settlers, but relations soured after resources and land were confiscated. The ancestors of Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, received a land grant from King Charles II of England which included a large portion of modern Virginia. After discovering one of the grant's boundaries, the Potomac River, extended into the Alleghany Mountains and that others had also received grants west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a compromise was reached whereby these grant holders would keep their land. One of these grants, named the King's Grants, was acquired in 1730 by John and Isaac Vanmeter from Governor Sir William Gooch, 1st Baronet. The Vanmeter grant was purchased by Baron Jost Hite the following year. Hite, a wealthy Protestant immigrant from Strasburg, Germany, had settled in Kensington, New York, before moving to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. In 1732, Hite, his three sons-in-law, and a dozen other German and Scotch-Irish families moved south and settled along Opequon Creek, the present site of the John Hite House. One of the men who had traveled with Hite, Peter Stephens, received a land grant of and settled further south where he built a log house. The oldest Stephens child, Ludwig (Lewis), was by that time an adult and operated a tavern at the family homestead. In the 1740s and 1750s, Lewis acquired land from Hite, Fairfax, and Peter Rittenhouse. On September 21, 1758, Lewis petitioned the colonial government of…

Geography

The town is located between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in close proximity to West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Washington, D.C., is approximately to the east and the center of Baltimore is to the northeast by highway. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has an area of , of which , or 1.21%, are water. Stephens City is located in the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen climate classification: Cfa) or in the humid continental climate zone (Köppen Climate Classification: Dfa) if the isotherm is used (which would make it one of the few municipalities in Virginia to have this climate), exhibiting four distinct seasons. Its climate is typical of Mid-Atlantic U.S. areas removed from bodies of water. The town is located in plant hardiness zone 7 throughout the town and surrounding Frederick County, indicating a temperate climate. Spring and fall are warm, with low humidity, while winter is cool, with annual snowfall averaging . Average winter lows tend to be around from mid-December to mid-February. Blizzards affect Stephens City on average once every four to six years. The most violent nor'easters typically feature high winds, heavy rains, and occasional snow. These storms often affect large sections of the U.S. East Coast. The highest recorded temperature was in 1988, while the lowest recorded temperature was in 1983. Notes: Temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit. Precipitation includes rain and melted snow or sleet in inches; median values are provided for precipitation and snowfall because mean averages may be misleading. Mean and median values are for the 30-year period 1971–2000; temperature extremes are for the station's period of record (1900–2001).…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,459
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  9,665
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,432
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,965
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  8,419
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,564
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,436
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,199

Largest nearby schools

• SHERANDO HIGH
  High · Stephens City · 1,666 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• MILLBROOK HIGH
  High · Winchester · 1,516 students · 13.5:1 ratio
• JAMES WOOD HIGH
  High · Winchester · 1,437 students · 12.7:1 ratio
• ADMIRAL RICHARD E. BYRD MIDDLE
  Middle · Winchester · 804 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• ROBERT E. AYLOR MIDDLE
  Middle · White Post · 799 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• Armel Elementary
  Elementary · Winchester · 615 students · 15:1 ratio
• Bass-Hoover Elementary
  Elementary · Stephens City · 600 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• Redbud Run Elementary
  Elementary · Winchester · 589 students · 14.4:1 ratio