Staunton Travel Guide
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42 miles S of New Market; 142 miles SW of Washington, D.C.; 92 miles NW of Richmond
Settled well before the Revolution, Staunton (pronounced "Stan-ton") was a major stop for pioneers on the way west. In the early 1800s, it was the eastern terminus of the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike (now U.S. 250), a major mountain road linking the Shenandoah Valley and the Ohio River. When the Central Virginia Railroad arrived in 1854, Staunton became even more of a regional center.
Today, the town is noted as the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson, our 28th president. Along with Wilson's first home, many of Staunton's 19th-century downtown buildings have been restored and refurbished, including the train station and its adjacent Wharf District, now a shopping and dining complex. Staunton is becoming equally known for the new Blackfriars Playhouse, a stunning replica of one of Shakespeare's theaters, has brought the Bard to the Shenandoah and made Staunton the valley's prime performing-arts center. On the outskirts of town is a living-history museum explaining the origins of the unique Shenandoah Valley farming culture.
