Front Royal, VA
| Front Royal, Virginia | ||
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| Town | ||
| Town of Front Royal | ||
Main Street in Front Royal, April 2009.
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| Nickname(s): Canoe Capital of Virginia | ||
 Front Royal
Front Royal
Front Royal
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| Coordinates: 38°56′N 78°12′W / 38.933°N 78.200°WCoordinates: 38°56′N 78°12′W / 38.933°N 78.200°W | ||
| Country | United States | |
| State | Virginia | |
| County | Warren | |
| Founded | 1788 | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Timothy W. Darr | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 9.5 sq mi (24.6 km2) | |
| • Land | 9.3 sq mi (24.0 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2) | |
| Elevation | 568 ft (173 m) | |
| Population (2010) | ||
| • Total | 14,440 | |
| • Density | 1,520/sq mi (586.99/km2) | |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | |
| ZIP code | 22630 | |
| Area code(s) | 540 | |
| FIPS code | 51-29968 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 1498480 | |
| Website | http://www.frontroyalva.com | |
Front Royal is a town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 14,440 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Warren County.
The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to become Front Royal was annexed and claimed for hunting by the Iroquois Confederation during the later Beaver Wars, by 1672. Some bands of the Shawnee settled in the area as client groups to the Iroquois and alternately to the Cherokee after 1721. The Iroquois formally sold their entire claim east of the Alleghenies to the Virginia Colony at the Treaty of Lancaster in 1744. Front Royal, originally settled in 1754 under the name LeHewtown, had been known to European explorers as early as the 1670s, and the nearby settlement of Chester's Ferry was in existence by 1736. The town also had a well-known nickname by the 1790s, "Helltown," due to the many livestock wranglers and boatmen on the Shenandoah coming through the area, who came into town looking for alcohol. It was incorporated as "Front Royal" in 1788.
Rail service was established in 1854 with the construction of the Alexandria, Orange and Manassas Gap Railroad between Manassas and Riverton. This line was soon extended to Strasburg in time to become a factor in the Battle of Front Royal on May 23, 1862 and throughout the Civil War. Lumber, agriculture, manufacturing and grain mills provided employment in the region for decades after the Civil War.
Several theories regarding the origins of the name "Front Royal" have been suggested.
A common theory is that the town was named for a giant oak tree – the "Royal" Tree of England – that stood in the public square during colonial days where Chester and Main Streets now join. It was there that the local militia were drilled. During drills, a frequent command given by the drill sergeant was, "front the Royal Oak!" The command was repeated and eventually shortened to simply "Front Royal". This theory is supported by a bulletin published by the United States Geological Survey in 1905, which states that the town was first known as Royal Oak, with the current name being derived from the commands of a confused colonel.
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