Howerytown - A Forgotten Community

With Virginia and the nation celebrating 250 years of freedom from England in 2026, I thought it might be fun to occasionally bring up some local history. At one time, Botetourt County stretched all the way to the Mississippi and into Wisconsin, which means my county's history is also the history of much of the nation.

Up until the early 1900s, an area between Amsterdam and Trinity in Botetourt County was known as Howerytown. The small community vanished after the Great Depression as the roads changed course.

Whatever was left was taken away when US 11 came through Troutville.

Perhaps the area’s great claim to fame occurred in 1872. At that time, the entire town was placed under a bond to keep the peace.

According to a New York Times article, the citizens were up in arms and for two days threw things at one another. “It was a war of the roses, in which the whole town was drawn, the forces on each side being about even,” the paper states. “The Magistrate, surrounded by all the majesty of the law, took up his position at Amsterdam, and dispatched his right bower, the constable, for the belligerent parties; but they, by virtue of more muscle and more numerous forces, closed the citadel and defied his authority.”

The standoff eventually ended and the parties involved “were put on their good behavior for one year, under the penalty of $100 each.”

Howerytown Road led, appropriately enough, to Howerytown. The road no longer exists. In the recent past has been mentioned by land surveyors as well as landowners along Sunset Avenue in Troutville who have expressed concerns about the possibility of that old route turning into a thoroughfare between US 220 and US 11.

Old folks recall a road that once led to the county seat.

It’s kind of remarkable how these old towns disappear. Botetourt County has many communities that are almost gone, including Trinity, Amsterdam, Nace, and others. They seem to vanish when no one is paying attention.

Information about Howerytown, which is thought to have existed at what is now the intersection of Trinity and Greenfield Roads, is sketchy. The area is also referenced as the Town of Greenville on some plats and in a few history books.

Jacob Howery (also Howry) purchased property from the Prestons (a famous Revolutionary War family) in the area in 1786 and 1794. He had a stagecoach inn and tavern on the southeastern corner of his land.

According to some reports, in 1795 he founded the town, requiring a perpetual quit rent of 1 shilling per annum for each lot.

In 1796 a Lutheran congregation organized at Howerytown in a home owned by the Rev. J. G. Butler, who also served in the Revolutionary War. Eventually this congregation became known as Brick Union.

By 1797 there were 24 landowners in the area. Among them were Christian Bower, Frederick Wegoner, Michael Minick, Frederick Shver, David Keslor, Abraham Custer, Benjamin Keslor, Benjamin Minick, Christopher Smith, John Poppy, John Highnor, Jr., Jacob Bishop, Christopher Cartish, Coonrad Moyer, Jospeh Heckman, John Ronecke, George Hepler, John Keslor, John Simmons, John Russel, Abraham Keslor, and David Linch.

Apparently Howery, Howry and Howrey are all the names of immigrants from Switzerland and Germany. They anglicized their surname from Hauri or Haury. 

Jacob Howery migrated to Virginia from Pennsylvania.

It is thought that the town’s founder is buried somewhere on the town property, but his grave has long vanished.

In its heyday, the town likely had houses, a tavern, a grocery store and a restaurant.

Now, it's just a memory.