Emporia, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Bishop William McKendree
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, May 9, 2009
1. Bishop William McKendree Marker
William McKendree was born in King William County in 1757. He soon moved with his family to present-day Greensville County, and later served in the Revolutionary War. In 1786, the county licensed him to keep a tavern at his house (12 miles south). The next year, transformed by the Second Great Awakening, McKendree entered the Methodist ministry as a circuit rider. In 1790, Francis Asbury ordained him Deacon. McKendree became presiding elder in the Western Conference extending from western Virginia to Illinois in 1800. In 1808, he became the first native-born American elected Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal (now United Methodist) Church. He died on 5 March 1835.
Erected 1995 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number UM-43.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Religion & Religious Structures • War, US Revolutionary. In addition, it is included in the Francis Asbury, Traveling Methodist Preacher, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is March 5, 1835.
Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 36° 40.954′ N, 77°
this page online
Regionally, this marker was in Southside Virginia and specifically in Central Virginia. It was also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it was in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Bishop William McKendree (1757-1835) (a few steps from this marker); General Edward E. Goodwyn (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Village View (about 500 feet away); The Worst of War (about 600 feet away); Gordon Linwood Vincent (about 600 feet away); Early Masonic Lodges (approx. 0.2 miles away); Grave of Gen. John R. Chambliss, Jr. (approx. 0.2 miles away); Veterans of the 1914-1918 World War I (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Emporia.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Village View (was about 600 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, May 9, 2009
2. South Main Street (facing south)
Credits. This page was last revised on May 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 13, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,303 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 13, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.
