Stuarts Draft is a census-designated place (CDP) in Augusta County, Virginia, United States.

[5] The most successful crops were hemp, corn, wheat, and flax which was mixed with wool to make linsey-woolsey clothes.

[9] Farmers experimented with tobacco and cotton but found hemp the most successful cash crop, supplying raw material for naval rope.

[11][a] There was fighting in Augusta County during the French and Indian War (1754–1763), smaller conflicts with Native Americans in 1764 and 1774, and minor skirmishes through 1794.

[7] When Thomas Stuart died, his sons were not living nearby, and his widow left the patent or land grant, making it available for resale.

[12] The Stuart property was purchased by John Harper in 1800, with some parts being owned by Joseph McComb and Jacob Farror at a later date.

[11][b] Before 1800, the roads to Stuarts Draft were poor, limiting travel to horseback or sleds rather than wheeled wagons.

[8] The first post office was in the former Thomas Stuart cabin, a hewed-pine log structure then on the Harper property.

[4] Funded by stock as a commercial venture, the turnpike allowed Stuarts Drafts' farmers to take their wheat and other goods by horse-drawn wagons to the trading post in Howardsville, Virginia.

[4] In 1856, Stuarts Draft's first doctor arrived; James M. Watson was a graduate of the University of Virginia's medical school in nearby Charlottesville.

[5] Other families moving to Stuarts Draft include Caldwell, Churchman, Forrer, Grass, Harnsberger, Hicks, Johnson, Kindig, Patterson, Prior, Van Lear, and Wilson.

[8][9] The railroad brought growth and prosperity to the farming community, making it one of the wealthiest sections of August County.

[4] In 1891, the Shenandoah Valley Railroad was purchased by the Norfolk and Western Railway, further expanding Stuart Draft's reach.

[4] The Citizens Educational League raised funds to expand the school building and add a playground, library, and organ.

[4] He opened the Dodge Inn on Main Street (now Draft Avenue), providing accommodations and packed lunches for travelers.

[11] Stuart Drafts' main apple producers were Alta Vista, Robert Black, Cisco Orchards, William Baldwin Dodge, George Harper, Samuel B. Harper, Charles I. Keyt, Linda Vista, and Virginia Valley—with each growing 1,000 to 6,000 barrels each annually.

[11] Cattle was the most common commercial livestock, although farmers in Stuarts Draft also raised hogs, sheep, and poultry.

[14] In the 1960s, Stuarts Draft entered the modern industrial era with the opening of Draftco and the J. K. Porter plant (now NIBCO).

[4][15] In the 1970s, other manufacturers moved to Stuarts Draft, including Hollister, Mastic Corporation/Alcoa (now PlyGem Industries), and P. T. Components (now Rexnord).

In 2017 and 2018, the community held a series of public meetings to create a Stuart Draft Small Area Plan.

[18] It also defines areas for urban development (business, industrial, public use, and residential) and agricultural and rural conservation.

[18] The Stuarts Draft CDP is located in southeast Augusta County on the northwest side of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

[7] Wildlife native to the area include black bear, deer, red fox, porcupine, beaver, hare, rabbit, and weasel.

[20] The Virginia Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries constructed the Maple Flats Ponds in the late 1950s to serve migrating waterfowl.

These industries were attracted to Stuarts Draft by its proximity to major interstates and metropolitan areas, a relatively flat landscape, and a "high-quality workforce with a strong work ethic.

[25] Hollister Incorporated, which develops and manufactures medical devices and products, opened its facility in Stuarts Draft in 1979.

[28] In February 2022, some Hershey employees started a campaign to join the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers’ union (BCTGM) to gain better working conditions.

The Target Mid-Atlantic Distribution Center in Stuarts Draft has a footprint of 1,650,000 square feet (38 acres; 153,000 m2).

[18] Surviving structures from the railroad era include the Kube Blacksmith Shop (1928) and the Etter Funeral Home (1895), on the corner of Flory Avenue.

[55] Covering 134 acres (0.54 km2; 54 ha), it is the largest recreation development in the George Washington National Forest area.