Among historians, the Great Valley of Virginia has long attracted attention as a battlefield and site of strategic importance during the Civil War. More recently, scholars have shown increasing interest in its early development during the eighteenth century -- the "backcountry" era when white settlers, pursuing property and land, took control of this vital region at the western edges of established English communities. But what of the valley's development after the passing of the frontier? How did it become a significant rural, agrarian, and small-town society of the Upper South? And how did its inhabitants respond to the new conditions unleashed by the Civil War?Seeking answers to such questions, the contributors to this volume focus on the social, economic, and cultural processes that shaped the lives of ordinary people in the region over the course of the nineteenth century. They look at how these inhabitants secured livelihoods, interacted with one another, and built or transmitted culture. Further, they strive to illuminate the values and mentalities that informed the conduct of these activities.