The Newtown History Center

The Newtown History Center offers museum exhibits and tours focusing on the people and events of Stephens City, Virginia’s long history. In addition to the exhibits located in the main museum, there also are interpretive displays in neighboring buildings that discuss the town’s wagon making industry and the architectural history of a late Colonial era structure known locally as the Stone House.

The Newtown History Center is more than a museum that tells the story of the ordinary people who lived and worked in an old Virginia wagon road town. It is a collecting institution with a mission to preserve, document and interpret the material culture and lore of the town of Stephens City and its environs. It is also a repository of documents and photographs relating to the history of the town, its inhabitants and their families. We serve tourists, school groups, research scholars, local patrons as well as professional genealogists and ordinary family history enthusiasts. If you have a question about the history of Stephens City, we can answer it.

The Stone House Foundation
The Newtown History Center is maintained by the Stone House Foundation, a not-for-profit, tax exempt, privately operated organization governed by a board of directors. It was established in 1990 by the late Mildred Lee Grove, a life-long resident of Stephens City. Named for the small stone dwelling built in the 1760s that originally housed the Foundation’s museum, the Stone House Foundation has always been focused on educating children, residents and visitors about the history and culture of the lower Shenandoah Valley. With the town of Stephens City as its focus, the Foundation seeks to interest and engage residents, visitors, scholars and students in the events, life-ways and material culture of the region. We also strive to promote the preservation of the buildings, artifacts and landscapes that are associated with the history of the town of Stephens City.

Board of Directors
Linden (Butch) Fravel, Jr., President
Eloise Strader, Vice President
Julia Davidson, Treasurer
Linda Simmons, Secretary
Robert W. Claytor, Member
Vickie S. Hollis, Member

Staff
Byron C. Smith
Director & Curator
bcsmith@newtownhistorycenter.org

Wayne A. Eldred
Manager of Collections & Programs
waeldred@newtownhistorycenter.org