The Shire of Stormvale was founded in October 1982 by students at the University of Michigan-Flint. It was originally called the Canton of the Towers of the Morning, an ironic reference to the various colleges in the area. When this was discovered to be similar to a name in fantasy literature, the members quickly renamed it the Shire of the Soaring Phoenix in December 1982. Soaring Phoenix was a reference to the notion of a branch rising from the ashes of two previous groups in the area, the Canton of Withermoor in the mid-1970s and the Shire of Westvale, which had a brief and controversial life from 1981-82. The branch was renamed the Shire of Stormvale in the fall of 1983. This name was a commentary on what had been stormy weather in the area that had seemed to the members to last for an unusually long time, and perhaps a self-deprecatory reference to the interactions of boldly opinionated members. Mostly, however, it just seemed to sound good.
Stormvale was based around the University of Michigan-Flint in downtown Flint, Michigan in the early years. Other members attended high schools or Mott Community College. The original members were quite young, but by the mid 1990s, there were more college instructors in the branch than college students. While Flint and its suburbs were the center of activity for Stormvale, the branch claimed all of Genesee County from the beginning. Later, the branch claimed Lapeer County to the east. Later still, the Barony of Northwoods transferred the counties of Sanilac and Huron to Stormvale during a general clarification of borders in the area in the late 1990s.
The Shire of Stormvale has been an energetic participant in event-staging. The first event was the Feast of Apples, held on December 10, 1982. The second event was the Feast of St. John the Baptist in 1986. The St. John event was held annually through 1990. In 1990, the shire added a second event in the fall. Over the years, this has been variously named and is currently Halloween-themed, the Harvest of Souls. In 1991, a spring event called Vikings Go Home! was added. This was continued through the mid-1990s. In October 1992, Stormvale hosted the Fall Crown Tournament. In 1999, five separate events were held by the branch, including two equestrian events and a Royal University session. From 1998-2001, local members humorously referred to Stormvale as the equestrian capitol of Pentamere, as over a half-dozen equestrian events were held, usually each spring and fall. The branch held a 20th Anniversary Celebration in October 2002.