There is no better way to see America than on foot. And there is no better way to appreciate what you are looking at than with a walking tour. Whether you are preparing for a road trip or just out to look at your own town in a new way, a downloadable walking tour from walkthetown.com is ready to explore when you are.
Each walking tour describes historical and architectural landmarks and provides pictures to help out when those pesky street addresses are missing. Every tour also includes a quick primer on identifying architectural styles seen on American streets.
Front Royal developed along three major travel routes that intersected her. Today's Chester Street was the main route from Chester’s Gap in the Blue Ridge to Thomas Chester’s ferry that crossed the Shenandoah River near present day Riverton, north of Front Royal. The road continued northwest of the ferry crossing, until it reached Winchester, the valley’s main trade center. Today's South Royal Avenue follows the age-old path along the eastern shore of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River before crossing both branches of the Shenandoah River and linking with the Valley’s foremost travel route, the Great Wagon Road. Today's East Main Street connected the other two routes with Rappahanncock County and the population and trade centers in central Virginia.
Industrious settlers and hard-working teamsters were not the only ones plying pre-Revolutionary War roads, however. Enough shady characters, rough-hewn mountaineers and unsavory river travelers congregated here that it was commonly known as "Helltown." In 1788 the frontier settlement was incorporated as Front Royal, although the murky origins of the name are lost to history.
Industry came to the town in the 1820s when Joseph Tuley put a tannery into operation. The next decade when Warren County was carved out of the political landscape, Front Royal was chosen as the seat of government. With its blend of small industry and civic duties Front Royal was better able to withstand the ravages of the Civil War than some of its plantation-based neighbors. In fact, by 1880, Front Royal's population doubled from 1870. The town's economy ticked along with breweries, flour milling, small manufacturing and other goods and services. Into the 20th century just as the Great Depression was suffocating the country, Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive were opening in Front Royal's backyard. It's position at Mile Marker 0.6 has brought the town full circle back to its influential position on a major travel route.
The Front Royal Historic District comprises 170 acres that blanket the commercial core of the town and, appropriately, we will begin our walking tour at the downtown remnant of Front Royal's transportation past...
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