Location in Virginia
Front Royal was a town in Virginia, home to Ryan Cawdor before his brother Harvey tried to kill him and he fled. Ryan later returned, killed Harvey, and installed his nephew Nathan as the new baron. (Homeward Bound)
Predark[]
Front Royal was a town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 13,589 at the 2000 census. It was the county seat of Warren County.
Origin of town name[]
The origin of the name "Front Royal" remains uncertain. One version holds that, in early decades of European settlement, the area was referred to in French as "le front royal," meaning the British frontier. French settlers, trappers, and explorers in the Ohio Territory of the mid-18th century were referring to the land grant made by King Charles II, then in control of Thomas, Lord Fairfax, Baron of Cameron. In English, "le front royal" is translated to the "Royal Frontier." The British themselves may have called the area "Front Royal" after 1763, when they set the so-called Proclamation Line along the spine of the Alleghenies to demarcate the settled portion of the colonies from the Indian Reserve in the interior.
However, another legendary version of the origin of the name has it that, during colonial days, a giant oak tree - the "Royal" Tree of England - stood in the public square where Chester and Main Streets now join. It was there that the local militia, composed of raw recruits slow to learn military commands and maneuvers, were drilled. On one occasion, the sorely tired drill sergeant became so exasperated by the clumsy efforts of his troops and their failure to follow his command that he hit upon a phrase that all could understand and shouted, "front the Royal Oak!" Among the spectators was a former professional soldier. He was so amused by the officer's coined order that he and his friends found much sport in telling the story, repeating "front the Royal Oak" until Front Royal was the resulting derivation.
Still a third account holds that when local militia were stationed around the town during the American Revolution, the sentry would call out "Front", to which the required entry password was to respond "Royal". Eventually their military post became known as "Camp Front Royal".
CETC[]
The ville of Front Royal was well known for its rotterman's, it was home to the Canine Enforcement Training Center (CETC), prior to skydark. It trained dogs in various detection abilities for numerous Federal Agencies.
Randolph-Macon Academy - Fort Royal, VA
Front Royal Castle[]
The Castle mentioned in Homeward Bound could possibly be the Randolph-Macon Academy, which built in 1892 and is centrally located within Front Royal.