Settled beside the Blue Ridge Mountains in the mid-1700s, Waynesboro was named after Revolutionary War general "Mad" Anthony Wayne. On March 2, 1865, the Civil War shook Waynesboro in the form of a short, devastating battle. Following the war, the establishment of the crossing lines of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in Waynesboro helped industries thrive. Rife Ram and Pump Works, Virginia Metalcrafters, DuPont, and Invista are a few of the manufacturers that have called Waynesboro home during the last 120 years. Town and mountainside apple orchards also flourished. Despite some citizen resistance, Waynesboro and Basic City, the town across the South River, were joined in 1924. With the closing of many industries in the mid- to late 1900s, Waynesboro began to focus on its natural, historic, and cultural uniqueness to strengthen and redefine the city as it entered the 21st century. Images of America: Waynesboro looks back at Waynesboro's past, offering fascinating glimpses of its businesses, institutions, events, and people.

Developed in 1797 by Scotch-Irish settler John Wallace, Waynesboro was a quiet rural village in Pennsylvania's fertile Cumberland Valley. Until the 1850s, the town's chief distinction was its location astride two main roads, which enabled local farmers and artisans to deliver their goods to bigger markets, such as Baltimore. During the next half-century, the mechanical genius of George Frick, Peter Geiser, the Landis brothers, and other visionary industrial leaders transformed the sleepy village into a major manufacturing center and patented inventions still used worldwide today. Waynesboro's location amid rolling farmland and forested mountains, which made the surrounding area a popular resort destination at one time, ensured that industrialization did not come at the cost of scenic beauty. Around Waynesboro is a photographic treasure that documents the many historical milestones and individuals of the area.

The history of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, through the end of the Twentieth century, told through reminiscences, diaries, letters, pictures, and anecdotes collected by the Author over the past forty years.

In 1865, Waynesboro played host to the last gasp of the Confederate army in the Shenandoah Valley. Although the Battle of Waynesboro isn't among the most recognizable clashes, such as Gettysburg or Antietam, it still holds a special place in American history. The Union forces, led by General Philip Sheridan, included a young brigadier general named George Armstrong Custer. The battle was also the last major conflict for famed Confederate general Jubal Early, whose defeat during the fight spelled the end of his Civil War service. Join author and Waynesboro native Richard G. Williams Jr. as he expertly traces the harrowing narrative of a prelude to the surrender at Appomattox just miles away in Waynesboro.