2026-04-15T01:42:23-04:00 Zend_Feed_Writer https://shenandoahstories.org/ Shenandoah Stories https://shenandoahstories.org 2016-05-20T11:15:20-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:21-04:00 https://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/62 Shenandoah County Library Sometime after the Civil War, Levi Rinker of Mt. Jackson donated a plot of land to that town’s African American community to serve as their cemetery. Later, an additional lot owned by Amanda Thorpe was also deeded to the cemetery. This separate land was needed since society expected the races to remain separate even after death. The cemetery surrounding the Union Church in Mt. Jackson was in operation from the early 19th century. However, it did not accept black corpses. So an African American graveyard had to be formed. The cemetery’s location on the outskirts of town, near the railroad track, in a spot away from the main throughway and public view contrasted sharply with the Union Cemetery which is in the center of town adjacent to the Valley Pike and other main roads. However, placement was not unusual since most other black cemeteries are located in similarly secluded spots. Evidence indicates that some of this property was already in use as a black cemetery prior to the Civil War. In 1862 a Union Infantry officer noted the cemetery was well established and contained “numerous graves.” Despite its use, the land remained in the hands white individuals since African Americans were offered little legal protection and would not have been able to form the association needed to own and manage the cemetery. For over 150 years after its founding, the Mt. Jackson Colored Cemetery served the needs of the local African American community. During the time it was in operation, few records were kept detailing who was buried there. In addition, the local black community could rarely afford elaborate tombstones complete with names and other information. These factors, coupled with years of neglect starting in the late 20th century, mean many of those buried here have been lost to us. The cemetery was revitalized in the early 21st century. Local residents, under the leadership of DeLois Wahr began to survey and repair the graveyard which had almost been lost. A new group of trustees assumed ownership and chose to maintain the historic “Mt. Jackson Colored Cemetery” name. In 2004 the town of Mt. Jackson erected a monument on the site which includes a history of the cemetery and a list of 74 individuals buried there who have been identified. These include many influential local African Americans who kept their community alive and thriving through the dangerous decades of the 20th century when Jim Crow reigned supreme in this area. A complete listing of those identified individuals is available at https://www.vagenweb.org/shenandoah/cem/mtjax02.html For more, view the original article. 2016-05-06T12:12:42-04:00 2023-01-18T13:13:27-05:00 https://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/31 Shenandoah County Library On July 4, 1867 a "Dr. Brown" visited Woodstock and preached at a “colored” camp meeting. This meeting laid the foundation of what is today Mt. Zion Methodist Church. The following year members of Woodstock’s African American community had raised enough money to purchase a plot of land at the intersection of Locust and Church Streets. In 1869 the congregation bought the frame work from the former St. Paul’s German Reformed church and moved it from the south end of town to their property. There they used the frame to build a church building. This building would be finished in 1887 when the inside was complete and would be renovated in 1898 when a belfry was added. The members of this church chose to affiliate themselves with what was then the African Methodist Episcopal Church. This denomination was one of the few who opposed slavery in the years before the Civil War and members of the black community in Woodstock probably would have been connected with this more liberal denomination. Until the groups merged in the 1930s, the predominantly white Woodstock Methodist Church was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church-South. Mt. Zion’s congregation supported the first African American School in Woodstock. That institution was founded under the auspice of the Freedman’s Bureau in 1865 and operated until 1870 at the church under the name the “Lincoln School.” Sponsored by the American Missionary Society, this school enrolled between 15 and 60 students for each of its terms. In 1881 the congregation took the lead in advocating for the community’s first local public school for African Americans which was built on church owned property immediately behind the church building. Members of the church strongly supported the students at those schools. Graduation, plays, spelling bees, and numerous other school events were held in the Church and often the lines between the congregation and school were blurred. Besides their support for education, the church was also known for its “Bush Meetings” and children’s services. These weekend-long affairs were held annually and featured numerous religious services and other, entertaining activities. They were primarily held outside, often on an open plot of land near Indian Springs on what is now Water Street. Black churches from around the county and the valley participated and large crowds typically gathered. In 1921 the congregation decided to replace the original church with a new building. Under the leadership of Reverend W.H. Polk they were able to raise over $1000 for the structure through a series of fundraisers. In September of 1921, the new church was completed. During the 1960s the current United Methodist denomination was formed and Mt. Zion joined. Today it is part of the Shenandoah Valley Charge which includes Woodstock and Strasburg’s Mt. Zion Methodist Churches. It also maintains Riverview Cemetery, a burial ground founded for Woodstock’s African American population in 1906. For more (including 3 images), view the original article.