Near Zenda in Rockingham County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Long's Chapel and Zenda

Photographed by Linda Walcroft, October 31, 2010

1. Long's Chapel and Zenda Marker

Inscription. Long's Chapel was built in 1870, a year after William and Hannah Carpenter and the Church of the United Brethren in Christ deeded land here "to colored people… for … a church, burial ground, and a school house." Henry Carter, Milton Grant, William Timbers, and Richard Fortune, all formerly enslaved, owned two-acre "home plots" where the community of Zenda grew to 17 households of 80 people by 1900. The school, where notable Harrisonburg educator Lucy Simms began her career, closed in 1925. In Zenda, blacks freely exercised new rights to worship, marriage, education, property, and burial in a marked gravesite.

Erected 2008 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number D-1-a.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1870.

Location. 38° 30.768′ N, 78° 45.804′ W. Marker is near Zenda, Virginia, in Rockingham County. It is on Fridley's Gap Road (County Route 811) 0.1 miles east of Indian

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Trail Road (County Route 717), on the right. About 10 miles northeast of Harrisonburg in small town of Zenda. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1334-B Fridleys Gap Road, Harrisonburg VA 22802, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds 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 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Soldiers Visit Melrose Caverns (approx. 1½ miles away); Melrose Caverns (approx. 1.6 miles away); Cavalry Engagement (approx. 1.8 miles away); Lacey Spring (approx. 2 miles away); Abraham Lincoln’s Father (approx. 2.1 miles away); Baxter House (approx. 4.9 miles away); Lincoln's Virginia Ancestors (approx. 5 miles away); Mannheim

Long's Chapel image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Linda Walcroft, October 31, 2010

2. Long's Chapel

(approx. 5.1 miles away).

Another marker is no longer nearby. Lacey Spring (was approx. 2 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Memorial at Cemetery Entrance behind Long's Chapel image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Linda Walcroft, October 31, 2010

3. Memorial at Cemetery Entrance behind Long's Chapel

"This Memorial is for The Named and the Nameless, Who labored, suffered and endured are now at rest Well Done, Good and Faithful Servants… Matt. 25:23. July 4, 1776 All men are created equal, they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. USA LCPS 5 - 2010"

Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 31, 2010, by Linda Walcroft of Woodstock, Virginia. This page has been viewed 2,525 times since then and 143 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 31, 2010, by Linda Walcroft of Woodstock, Virginia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.