Three new sections now live on the site, each with its own dedicated newsletter: People & Culture, Local History, and Outdoors & Recreation. If you’re already subscribed to The Stauntonian, you’re automatically signed up for all three. Nothing to click, nothing to do to add them.

Every story below is free to read through Friday. After that, they move behind the paywall for paid subscribers only. Read them now if you don’t want to wait.

People & Culture

Mary Baldwin’s Financial Reckoning, Explained

SACSCOC put Mary Baldwin on probation last Friday over Standard 13.3, the accreditation standard covering financial responsibility. The university hasn’t faced an interruption to its accreditation since 1931. We broke down what probation for “good cause” actually means, what triggered it, what it doesn’t mean for current students, and what the next twelve months look like for a school that employs hundreds of people and anchors a chunk of the city’s upper campus footprint.

How Staunton Became America’s Fourth of July Town

A park, four hometown names, and twenty five summers of free concerts. The story behind why this city treats Independence Day like it belongs to us specifically.

QCMM 2026: What We Know So Far

Queen City Mischief & Magic returns to Beverley Street September 26 and 27. We’ve got the new medal series, confirmed ghost tours, and a preview of the chaos regulars know is coming the moment that Buckingham Branch train pulls in Saturday morning.

Local History

Where the Fourth of July Was Born, Sheltered, and Silenced

Augusta County helped write the case for independence. A church on Beverley Street once sheltered a government on the run. This one traces a holiday’s roots straight through Staunton’s own history, including the chapters that don’t make it into the parade-day version of the story.

Outdoors & Recreation

The Park Most Staunton Residents Drive Past Without Stopping

Gypsy Hill gets the postcard treatment. This park, tucked on the southwest edge of the city, gets five miles of singletrack and a quiet birding legacy that most residents have driven past for years without knowing it’s there.

The Blue Ridge’s Secret Beach

Sherando Lake sits inside the George Washington National Forest, about forty minutes from downtown. It’s the kind of place people only tell you about once they’ve made you promise not to tell too many others. We’re telling you anyway.

The Highest Point in Augusta County is Standing Watch

There’s a fire tower at 4,463 feet on top of Elliott Knob, the highest point in Augusta County, and most people who live here have never seen it. One of only three fire lookout towers left standing in Virginia, with views that stretch from Massanutten to the Peaks of Otter on a clear day.

Questions, tips, or a story we should be chasing? Write to Brad at brad@stauntonian.com.