Dale Enterprise, Virginia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dale Enterprise, Virginia
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Unincorporated community
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 Dale Enterprise, Virginia
Location in Virginia
Dale Enterprise, Virginia
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Virginia |
| County | Rockingham |
| Elevation | 1,408 ft (429 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| Area code(s) | 540 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1492833 |
Dale Enterprise is a small, unincorporated community. It is located in Rockingham County, Virginia, in the United States. The community got its name in 1872. Before that, it was called Millersville, after the Miller family who owned a store there.
After the American Civil War, a new store opened. It was run by Mr. J. W. Minnick. This store was seen as a new "enterprise." Since the store was near a "dale" (a small valley), the community was named Dale Enterprise.
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Where is Dale Enterprise Located?
Dale Enterprise is in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. It sits about four miles west of Harrisonburg. You can find it along U. S. Highway 33. The community is shown on the Bridgewater U.S. Geological Survey Map. It is in the Eastern time zone.
The area is about 1408 feet above sea level. It is at the base of Mole Hill. Mole Hill is a large rock formation. Scientists believe it was once the core of a volcano. Over many years, the volcano has worn away.
What's the Weather Like?
Dale Enterprise has a mix of climates. It's between a humid subtropical climate and a humid continental climate. This means it has warm, humid summers and cool to cold winters.
The average temperature in January is about 32.4°F (0.2°C). In July, it's around 74.8°F (23.8°C). The coldest temperature ever recorded was -25°F (-32°C) in 1912. The hottest was 105°F (41°C) in 1999.
| Climate data for Dale Enterprise, Virginia (1,358 ft or 414 m AMSL), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 78 (26) |
79 (26) |
91 (33) |
97 (36) |
97 (36) |
102 (39) |
105 (41) |
104 (40) |
101 (38) |
94 (34) |
84 (29) |
78 (26) |
105 (41) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 63.7 (17.6) |
65.9 (18.8) |
74.6 (23.7) |
83.6 (28.7) |
88.2 (31.2) |
93.0 (33.9) |
94.5 (34.7) |
92.9 (33.8) |
89.6 (32.0) |
83.0 (28.3) |
73.5 (23.1) |
64.6 (18.1) |
95.5 (35.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 42.1 (5.6) |
46.1 (7.8) |
53.6 (12.0) |
64.7 (18.2) |
73.5 (23.1) |
82.0 (27.8) |
86.0 (30.0) |
84.3 (29.1) |
77.8 (25.4) |
66.8 (19.3) |
55.7 (13.2) |
46.0 (7.8) |
64.9 (18.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 32.4 (0.2) |
34.8 (1.6) |
42.0 (5.6) |
52.2 (11.2) |
61.9 (16.6) |
70.8 (21.6) |
74.8 (23.8) |
73.2 (22.9) |
66.3 (19.1) |
54.9 (12.7) |
44.1 (6.7) |
36.0 (2.2) |
53.6 (12.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 22.7 (−5.2) |
23.6 (−4.7) |
30.4 (−0.9) |
39.6 (4.2) |
50.3 (10.2) |
59.7 (15.4) |
63.7 (17.6) |
62.1 (16.7) |
54.8 (12.7) |
43.0 (6.1) |
32.5 (0.3) |
26.0 (−3.3) |
42.4 (5.8) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 4.2 (−15.4) |
7.5 (−13.6) |
14.2 (−9.9) |
25.4 (−3.7) |
34.8 (1.6) |
46.9 (8.3) |
52.9 (11.6) |
51.0 (10.6) |
40.8 (4.9) |
27.6 (−2.4) |
18.4 (−7.6) |
11.1 (−11.6) |
1.9 (−16.7) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −25 (−32) |
−22 (−30) |
−6 (−21) |
10 (−12) |
24 (−4) |
32 (0) |
41 (5) |
39 (4) |
26 (−3) |
15 (−9) |
2 (−17) |
−16 (−27) |
−25 (−32) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.71 (69) |
2.22 (56) |
3.21 (82) |
3.27 (83) |
4.02 (102) |
3.93 (100) |
4.08 (104) |
3.81 (97) |
3.74 (95) |
2.50 (64) |
2.60 (66) |
2.91 (74) |
39.00 (991) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 4.2 (11) |
6.2 (16) |
4.5 (11) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0.6 (1.5) |
3.6 (9.1) |
19.4 (49) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 10.0 | 8.8 | 11.8 | 12.9 | 13.9 | 12.5 | 12.1 | 12.2 | 10.2 | 9.3 | 9.8 | 10.5 | 134.0 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 2.8 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 9.6 |
| Source 1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: WRCC | |||||||||||||
A Look Back at Dale Enterprise History
Dale Enterprise is near an area known as "The Burnt District." This name comes from an event during the American Civil War in October 1864. Union General Philip Sheridan ordered homes in the area to be burned. This happened after a Union officer was killed nearby.
Many families in the Dale Enterprise area lost their homes and farms. This was true even for many Mennonite families. Mennonites are a religious group known for being peaceful.
The Dale Enterprise Weather Station
Did you know Dale Enterprise has a very old weather station? Lewis "L. J." Heatwole started keeping weather records in 1868. He was only 15 years old then. In 1884, the U.S. Signal Service made him a "voluntary observer." This meant he officially helped track the weather.
Four years later, Heatwole set up the Dale Enterprise weather station. It is the oldest working weather station in Virginia. It's also the third oldest in the entire country! The same family has run it since it started. The station is in a farm field, away from buildings. This helps get accurate readings. Even today, the original thermometer from 1868 is kept as a backup.
The Blosser Printing Press
The Blosser Printing Press was started by Abraham Blosser. He set it up in his home near Dale Enterprise in the late 1800s. His most famous publication was the Watchful Pilgrim. This was a paper he edited and printed twice a month. He started it in 1880.
The press also printed a paper about Mennonite baptism. It was called Eine Verhandlung von den äusserlichen Wasser-Taufe. This paper was originally written in German. Abraham Blosser also printed his own writings and did custom printing jobs for others.
The Dale Enterprise School
The history of the Dale Enterprise School began in 1877. Peter and Nancy Heatwole gave some of their farm land for a school. The first school building, called Piney Grove School, was built there in 1885. It was a wooden building located in a pine grove.
In 1909, the old school was taken down. A new, beautiful brick school was built in its place. A history book from 1914 described it as a "beautiful three-room brick house." It had running water from Harrisonburg. The school taught grades 1 through 7. Each of the three classrooms had different grade levels learning together.
The school closed its doors in 1963. The building was empty for many years. Since 1975, it has been used for different purposes. Today, it serves as the church for the Harrisonburg Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
