Historic Walking Tours in New Market, Virginia, USA

The New Market WalkingTours begin their fifth season on April 1, 2010 and present a tour at 10:30 am every day ( except Sundays) through October 31, 2010

Stroll the timeworn streets of the Historic District with a historian/storyteller costumed in 1860’s period dress and hear the real life adventures of New Market’s nineteenth-century citizens. The information you hear is based on family and church histories, journals, diaries, and eyewitness accounts. You will see homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places, hear folklore of the Shenandoah Valley, and perhaps even a folksong or two.

Allow 90 minutes for the daily tours. Each tour walks about 8 blocks and has occasional places where you may sit.

There are three tours:

Tour #1: Boys, Bugles and Skirts

Tour guide and civil war actors in front of Miss Kimberleigh's store

On May 15, 1864 the VMI boys helped the Confederates win the Battle of New Market. Hear what happened in the daily life of women of New Market, before, during ,and after the Civil War. You will hear stories about Jessie Rupert, outspoken Union Sympathizer, Eliza Clinedinst, Confederate nurse and eyewitness to the battle, and Anna Maria Henkel, wife and mother who outwitted the invading Yankees. You will learn about pacifists during the Civil War, as well as the role of slavery, Commerce, and medicine in New Market.

Please enter the tour date, time and your phone number in the "Add Special Instructions to Merchant" field when you checkout.

Tour #2: New Market: an All-American Town

From its Native American Beginnings, to Bunker Hill, to the expansion toward the Wild West… if it happened in American History, there is a reflection of it in New Market. While some Civil War information is shared, this overview tour of the town primarily explores the colonial and federal history of New Market. Hear about the Henkel Press, the Henkel Apothecary, how New Market got its name, and many more curiosities of a small town in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

Please enter the tour date, time and your phone number in the "Add Special Instructions to Merchant" field when you checkout.

Tour #3: “Angel of the Shenandoah:” The Jessie Rupert Story

Scottish immigrant, outspoken abolitionist, personal friend of Stonewall Jackson ,and resident of New Market during the Civil War, Jessie Rupert was ostracized by her neighbors for her views and opinions. Yet, on her tombstone she is acknowledged to be “The Angel of the Shenandoah” Learn more about this remarkable woman and her courageous story and tour the New Market sites where she worked and lived.

Please enter the tour date, time and your phone number in the "Add Special Instructions to Merchant" field when you checkout.

Reservations recommended. Use buttons above to pay with your credit card, or call us at 540-740-3747 between 10 am-4 pm . Reservations by phone can be paid for with cash only, 20 minutes prior to tour time. Reservations are not required and you may show up to take the 10:30 daily tours without prior notice. There are days when, due to guide illness or other personal conflicts, a tour will be cancelled. Therefore it is a good idea to call before your arrival. If for any reason a tour has been cancelled, the answering machine will relay the most current information about the tour.

Dates and Times

NOTE: Dates when tours will not be offered; Sept 14,15,16,17, or 24.

Boys, Bugles and Skirts

Tues, Wed, Fri, at 10:30 am

All American Town

Mon, Thurs, Sat at 10:30 am

“Angel” Tour NEW!

Fri. at 2 pm in June, July, and August

Evening Tours

Fri. 7 pm July and August, by appointment

Lantern Tours

Fri. and Sat. 7 pm. in October, by appointment

“Mini” Tours NEW!

Wed., 2 pm only - 30 minutes $5

If you miss the daily scheduled tour times and wish to have a custom tour, please call 540-740-3747 and see if a personal tour can be arranged.

Other information

The tours begin from the Apple Blossom Inn (get directions).

New Market Walking Tours reserves the right to cancel for any reason.

New Market Walking Tours is not liable for personal injury or loss of personal property while on the tours.

If you are disabled, please call before you arrive so that we can re-route the tour to accommodate your needs. Yes- we will walk in a rainy drizzle, but not in a downpour. We also will not tour if the temperature is below 40 degrees. If you think you are not “up to walking” but would like to hear the story of Jessie Rupert, hire New Market Walking Tour Guide, Susan Smith to come to your organization to present a one-woman, 45 minute drama entitled “Angel of the Shenandoah”

Customer Comments

"Our recent visit to New Market would not have been complete without the inclusion of a tour by New Market Walking Tours. Dressed in period costume, our guide Susan Smith graciously braved a rainy day and exemplified a hearty spirit as she explained its history, people and places of interest. You felt as though you were there a hundred and fifty years ago as you touched a door that had been smashed by a rifle butt or saw the perch where Breckinridge surveyed the battlefield or learned about the important roll local women played. All in all, a must-do experience." Bob and Doris Logan

"I wanted to thank you again for the very interesting walking tour of your lovely town. .... the two who showed up on Monday and got the private tour at 2 pm. She has decided to bring her husband and children back. We saw many interesting things during our five day stay in Virginia but yours was one of the best. I would recommend the tour to anyone. Thanks again. Sincerely, Ann from North Carolina"

"Dr Betty Karol Wilson may be a name you don't know, but she should be up there on the marquee. You see, she's the fun-filled hostess with all the academic credentials to teach you about New Market and the northern Shenandoah Valley of the 19th century. Dr Wilson conducts tours, complete with "quaint and colorful costumes," of New Market that bring history to life and give you reason to go back to the library to read more about the rough and tumble characters and town life of the area, especially during the Civil War and its aftermath. See full comment by David Evans.

Dates and Times

Other information

Customer Comments

Our walking tours in the press