What Happens West of the Mountain Matters

West of the Mountain is brand new. We started it in 2026 because the valley we live in deserves to be covered like it matters.

The Northern Shenandoah Valley is one of the great apple-growing regions on the East Coast. The first commercial orchard went in the ground here in 1871, and the Apple Blossom Festival has been throwing parades through Old Town Winchester since 1924. We’re home to Strasburg, the Antique Capital of Virginia, where the North Fork bends. To Berryville’s Main Street, where small-town conversations still happen on the sidewalk. To a Friday night football culture that runs from Stephenson to Strasburg. And to a stretch of grocery stores where people still recognize each other in the produce aisle.

Almost none of that lives on a national feed. Most of it doesn’t show up in your search results. And a lot of it — the council vote, the new restaurant on Main Street, the milestone at the high school, the church supper on Saturday — is what actually makes a week here feel like a week here.

That’s what this letter covers.

What’s in every issue

• Local events worth your calendar — this week and next
• The news that actually changes your block, your school, your road
• Town milestones — openings, closings, retirements, new arrivals
• One small valley story — a place, a person, a piece of history
• A short list of what other valley reporters and podcasters are putting out, so you have somewhere else to look

Our Coverage Area

We focus on the communities of the Northern Shenandoah Valley:

• Winchester — the hub of the valley, home to Old Town and the Apple Blossom Festival
• Stephens City — one of Virginia’s oldest towns, anchored along Route 11
• Strasburg — the Antique Capital of Virginia, where the North Fork bends
• Stephenson — a crossroads community with deep roots north of Winchester
• Berryville — Clarke County’s seat, where rolling hills meet the Blue Ridge

We also cover Middletown, Kernstown, Star Tannery, Gore, and the smaller communities that make this valley feel like home.

A note on being early

If you’re reading this in the first year, you’re a charter neighbor. The stories you flag, the events you tell us about, and the businesses you point us toward will shape what this letter sounds like for the next ten. So please write in.

Get in Touch

Have a story tip, an event you want listed, or a business you’d like us to feature? Send us a note at hello@westofthemountain.com. We read every email.