History ==
=== Founding and early history ===
Abram Paul Funkhouser and John (Jay) Paul Fries founded the school as Shenandoah Seminary on February 12, 1875. At the time, it was located on a 10-acre (4.0 ha) campus in Dayton, Virginia, and classes were initially held in a two-room log cabin. The school had 11 students enrolled in its first year. Over the next 85 years, the institution changed names six times but always kept “Shenandoah” as part of its name.
Shenandoah Seminary became a junior college in 1924, changing its name to Shenandoah College the following year. Shenandoah Conservatory became a separate corporation in 1937 and began granting four-year degrees.
=== Move to Winchester ===
Intense competition from neighboring colleges and universities, along with increasing long-term operating deficits, created low morale. The college urgently required a solution to prevent its closure. On June 2, 1952, President L. P. Hill resigned, effective immediately. Eight days later Reverend Troy Brady was elected …
