THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY FRONTIER∗

Abstract

An approach employing three basic themes, movement through space, development in place, and changing relative location through time, is a fruitful method of reevaluating conventional environmental, cultural, and economic interpretations of frontier America. Study of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in the eighteenth century indicates that frontier areas were more complex socially and more sophisticated economically than has generally been acknowledged. Traditional views of population migration and land acquisition, the contributions of national-cultural groups, and the development of economic activities are questioned.