Strasburg VA 250th Anniversary Geocoin

Peter Stover (Petrus Stauffer) is considered the founder of the town of Strasburg. Stover was born in 1715 to a German-Swiss father, Christian Stauffer I, in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.  Stauffer took his family to America in 1718, to gain religious freedom, and settled in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania where he would live out his entire life.

His son Peter migrated south to Virginia by 1730 and to the Shenandoah Valley as early as 1739. On May 2, 1749 Stover purchased 483 acres (1.95 km²) of land from Jacob Funk, his future father-in-law.  The purchase was divided into smaller plots for sale to other settlers and a village was informally established.

Stover applied for a town charter in November of 1761 giving the town the official name of Strasburg.  The name was taken from Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, a German-speaking French province. Some called the area Staufferstadt, the German name for Stoverstown. Ten trustees were named; William Miller, Matthew Harrison, Jacob Bowman, Valentine Smith, Charles Buck, Peter Stover, Isaac Hite, Leonard Batice, John Funk, and Philip Huffman (Hoffman).

Peter eventually married Frainey Funk, before he died August 13, 1799 at the age of 84.  He was survived by eight children.  Being a philanthropist for most of his life, Stover's will left land and $10,000 to the community to establish schools. A monument resides in Strasburg's Riverview Cemetery honoring Peter Stover, but the whereabouts of his grave is unknown.
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This celebratory geocoin has a very special mission.  Strasburg, Virginia USA is celebrating its 250th anniversary in 2011.  The Strasburg 250th Anniversary Committee created a wonderful multi-cache (GC2KHPR) where if you complete the multi-stage cache, you receive one of these fabulous coins for your collection.

We hope that you will help this coin complete its multi-stage mission.  In October, 2011, this coin will be launched in Europe as one of the committee members is traveling oversees.  We would love to track this coin as it travels through Europe, eventually returning to the USA and Strasburg, Virginia

Mission #1 - From the launching cache, the coin should make its way to Strasbourg, France, the town for which Strasburg, Virginia was named.   Please find some great caches to visit and take photos of signs or buildings or restaurants with the name "Strasbourg" and post them.


Mission #2 - From Strasbourg, France, the coin should make its way to the hometown of Strasburg, Virginia's founding father (Peter Stover)--Mannheim, Baden-Wurttemburg, Germany.  Again, the coin should visit parks and plazas and fountains and restaurants, all with identifying signs that help us to place the coin in Germany.


Mission #3 - From Germany, the coin should make its way across the big pond back to the United States, and particularly, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.  Take the coin to a ballpark, a river, or a lovely town square and take some more pics. 


Mission #4 - From there, the coin should return to its starting location--Strasburg, Virginia, USA.  There are a number of caches in the area, but the best cache would be one where the coin would be close to the center of town or Town Hall.

Good luck with your caching and we look forward to watching the coin's travels and sharing them with town residents!

This lovely geocoin was created by the Strasburg 250th Anniversary Committee.  The artwork on the front of the coin--the anniversary logo--was created in black & white by local artist Hilary White.  The pottery represents the strong history of the town, once known as "Pot Town."  Commemorative 250th pottery was created by local artists for this anniversary.  The small building represents the Strasburg Museum which summarizes both the pottery and railroad history of the town as well as its rich German roots.   The water represents the North Fork of the Shenandoah River which meanders through the town of Strasburg and surrounding Shenandoah County.  Lastly, the green represents Signal Knob and Massanutten Mountain.  Signal Knob was used as a signal station during the Civil War and is a focal point of the town's eastern boundary. The Committee took Hilary's artwork and added the anniversary dates and 250 years notation.  The back of the coin represents the Strasburg Rams, the mascot from the local high school sports teams.  "Ram Pride" is a common phrase used around the local playing fields.  The purple background represents the teams' colors of purple and white; the town's street signs are purple and white and many festivals and events utilize those colors throughout the year.

Please keep this coin moving; it's not a collectible coin.  If you would like a collectible coin and have a chance to visit Strasburg, Virginia, you can collect a coin of your very own by completing the town's anniversary cache (noted above).  As of October 1, there are about 60-70 collector's coins remaining.