Fort Valley

The "valley within a valley"--a sunken monadnock between the two arms of Massanutton Mountain. Closed in at the northern end (except for a very narrow gap through which Passage Creek flows and a single road runs), the valley opens out as one moves southward until at the widest it is about three miles wide. In all Fort Valley is 23 miles long. There are roads exiting to Edinburg, Luray, and Mount Jackson. The valley is mostly private farmland--the federal George Washington National Forest covers the slopes on both the east and west mountains. The satellite map illustrates the extent of farmed and developed land. The area is rural. According to tradition, Daniel Morgan built the first road into Fort Valley from the north, at the order of George Washington, with a view to holing up in this naturally fortified valley as a possible last stand against the British during the American revolution. The Continental Army's victory at Yorktown altered Washington's plans.