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By all accounts Norris' History is the finest work on the lower Shenandoah Valley of Virginia ever written. In common with the best county and regional histories, Norris' treatment of the Shenandoah Valley counties of Frederick, Berkeley, Jefferson, and Clarke begins with an examination of the early explorations and settlements in the area, describes the outstanding topographical and geographical features, and then goes on to give an account of the settlement and organization of the various towns, villages, and cities of the region, their respective institutions, their settlers and early residents, their participation in the various wars, and notable events in their history. The final third of the work, a full 250 pages, contains genealogies of hundreds of Valley families and biographical sketches of notable and representative figures.

The index to the original 1890 edition was inadequate by today's standards, and when the book was first reprinted by the Virginia Book Company in 1972, a new index was added, 112 pages long and containing thousands and thousands of names, making this great work truly accessible for the first time ever. Clearfield Company is delighted to make the expanded 1972 edition available to Shenandoah Valley researchers at this time.