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The Center
A Brief History Directions From I-81 (North or South) From I-64 PARKING - parking is available directly across New Street in the New Street Parking Garage. You may access the garage from either Johnson OR New Street. There is a handicap accessible parking space directly behind the Smith Center. |
The
R. R. Smith Center, named in honor of long-time state
and community leader R. R. "Jake" Smith, is a
collaboration of three leading non-profit organizations
in the Staunton/Augusta County area of the Shenandoah
Valley: 
National Register district. The Center houses exhibit
galleries, a lecture hall, classrooms, archival storage, a library and reading
room, board and committee meeting space, and offices for
the three non-profits. The R. R. Smith Center is the
region's only history and art center. 
For
the better part of three centuries, Staunton has served both as
the county seat and a community crossroads, hosting those
settlers who came to stay and offering temporary refuge for
those passing through. Over the years a number of artisans and
artists have been woven into the fabric of the area culture:
John Sheets, the rifle maker; Caleb Bingham, the painter; Grandma
Moses, the folk artist; and T. J. Collins, the architect. Of
these, Collins was one who stayed and left his signature on the
local landscape through the more than one thousand public and
private buildings designed by his firm, including the 1895 Eakleton Hotel which houses the R. R. Smith Center for
History and Art.