Shenandoah Valley AVA

Ridings Mill is an unincorporated community in southern Frederick County, Virginia. Ridings Mill takes its name from the mill on West Run there. The community is located to the east of Middletown at the crossroads of Ridings Mill and Huttle Roads. Named for the mill located on West Run on Ridings Mill Road, this is a rural area consisting mainly of farms.

Passage Creek is a 38.5-mile-long (62.0 km) tributary stream of the North Fork Shenandoah River in Fort Valley, Virginia. For most of its length it flows through a rural valley between the two spine-like ridges of Massanutten Mountain, then exits the valley by cutting a narrow gorge through the northeast end of the mountain.

Thorndale Farm is a historic farm property at 652 North Buckton Road, in rural Frederick County, Virginia east of Middletown. The property, over 41 acres (17 ha) in size, includes a wood-frame farmhouse built about 1790 and enlarged and restyled in the Greek Revival about 1855, as well as a later 19th-century barn and a c. 1840 meathouse. It was originally part of a much larger land grant made to John Larrock, a militia captain the American Revolutionary War. Part of the farm was involved in the 1864 Battle of Cedar Creek in the American Civil War.The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

St. Thomas Chapel, also known as St. Thomas Episcopal Church or St. Thomas Protestant Episcopal Chapel, is a historic building located at 7854 Church Street in Middletown, Frederick County, Virginia, United States. Built in the 1830s, regular services were held at the Episcopal church for almost 100 years. The building has been restored twice, once after being heavily damaged during the Civil War, and again in the 1960s. The church was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1973.

Laurel Ridge Community College, formerly Lord Fairfax Community College, is a public community college with multiple campuses in the Shenandoah Valley and Piedmont regions of Virginia. It is part of the Virginia Community College System and operates four locations — the Fauquier and Middletown Campuses, the Luray-Page County Center, and a site at Vint Hill in eastern Fauquier County — that serve seven counties and one city in the area, enrolling 5,862 students in academic year 2021–2022. Students attending Laurel Ridge can obtain an associate degree or certificate. In July 2021, the Virginia State Board of Community Colleges changed names for local institutions named after people who owned slaves or advocated racist policies such as school segregation. The board allowed the college to change its name to from Lord Fairfax Community College to Laurel Ridge Community College. Instead of venerating Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, plantation owner, the new name honors laurel flower that has been associated with academic achievement.

Middletown is a town in Frederick County, Virginia, United States, in the northern Shenandoah Valley. The population was 1,265 at the 2010 census, up from 1,015 at the 2000 census.

The Middletown Historic District is a national historic district located in Middletown, Virginia. It originally encompassed 234 contributing properties, the majority of which are residential buildings and their associated outbuildings. The boundaries of the historic district are approximately Church Street, Senseney Avenue, and First through Sixth Streets, except for a portion of Main Street that ends just south of Reliance Road (Route 627). The non-residential historic structures include four specialty shops, a former theater, four churches, the Town Hall, two former schools, three warehouses and an inn. Notable buildings include the former Middletown Mission Church (c. 1818), Grace United Methodist Church (1897), the former Mt. Zion Church (1880), the former Middletown School (1909), the Town Hall (1880), the Wayside Inn (1797), Larrick's Tavern (1750), the former Wayside Theatre (1946), and Lafolette House (1800). Located in the district and separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) is St. Thomas Chapel (1837). The area that is present-day Middletown began developing in the mid-18th century due to the Great Wagon Road that brought settlers and commerce to the Shenandoah Valley. When the Virginia General Assembly formally established Middletown in 1796, there were already many residential and commercial buildings in the area. The town continued to develop thanks to the Valley Turnpike, present-day Main Street/U.S. Route 11, which connected the town to nearby Newtown (Stephens City) and Strasburg. During the 19th century Middletown experienced continued residential and commercial growth until the Civil War. Many skirmishes took place in the area during Jackson's Valley campaign. The 1864 Battle of Cedar Creek, which began just south of the town limits before moving north through the town, resulted in many damaged properties. Commerce increased after a railroad track built in 1870 helped the town recover from the war's effects. Many of the town's historic houses were constructed in the late-19th century. In the 20th century Route 11 was widened, utilities were installed, and the county's first high school opened in Middletown. Additional houses, warehouses, and commercial buildings, including a bank and movie theater, were constructed. A fire station built in the 1960s replaced historic houses, a trend that continued during the next few decades. Due to the efforts of a local heritage group and with support from residents, a large portion of the town was listed as a historic district by the VLR and NRHP in 2003. Despite the historic designation, there have been several contributing properties demolished. Town officials are hoping to avoid further demolition by encouraging residents to maintain their property and by preventing the construction of buildings that do not fit in with the character of the historic district.

Monte Vista, also known as Cedar Grove Farm and Heater House, is a historic home located near Middletown, Frederick County, Virginia. It was built in 1883, and is a large three-story, five-bay, brick dwelling with Eastlake and Queen Anne design elements. The front facade features a two-story portico with four full-height Tuscan columns, added about 1942. Also on the property are the contributing large bank barn with cupola and weathervane, a scale house dating at least to 1907, a frame summer kitchen, a two level stone ice house, a smokehouse, and a brick bake oven. It was owned by Solomon and Caroline Wunder Heater, who lost two sons fighting for the Confederacy, even though she was a staunch Union sympathizer.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Kline's Mill is a historic grinding mill in Frederick County, Virginia, United States. First built in the 1770s, the rebuilt 1794 mill contains original millwork and is a rare surviving example of a mechanism based on Oliver Evans' continuous milling system.

The Battle of Guard Hill, Battle of Crooked Run, Battle of Cedarville, or the Battle of Front Royal took place on August 16, 1864, in Warren County, Virginia as part of Philip H. Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign of the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Richard H. Anderson were sent from Petersburg to reinforce Early. Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt's Union cavalry division surprised the Confederate columns while they were crossing the Shenandoah River, capturing about 300. The Confederates rallied and advanced, gradually pushing back Merritt's men to Cedarville. The battle was inconclusive.