Last updated on August 1, 2024
The small community of Zenda was formed through the strength and courage of former enslaved African Americans. The area located north of the city of Harrisonburg in Rockingham County near the interaction of Fellowship Road and Fridley’s Gap Road. Zenda was established in September 1869 when William and Hannah Carpenter deeded land for $30 to John Watson, Henry Frazier, and Reuben Ambrose, who were three trustees for the Virginian Conference of the Church of the United Brethren in Chris. The congregation was given the land for a church, burial ground, and schoolhouse. The community was called “Little Africa” or “Athens,” in its later years, it was referred to as Zenda. Zenda began with formerly enslaved families in the surrounding area who sought to be first-time property owners. As one of the first Black communities in Rockingham County, Zenda grew with new residents who built their own homes and other properties with the carpentry skills acquired during enslavement. John Watson, his wife, Sarah, and two children were among the early residents of Zenda. According to the United States of 1870 and 1880 Census, Henry Carter, Milton Grant, William Timbers, and Richard Fortune headed other early households.
The members of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ pushed for a Black congregation in Zenda. A chapel was built, overseen by Jacob Long, to serve as a house of worship and an educational center for Black families. Black and white volunteers raised funds for the church construction completed in 1871. Long’s Chapel, or “Old Athens Church,” became the focal point of the freedman settlement of Zenda. Reverend J Brown was the assigned pastor by the United Brethren Virginia Conference to its Virginia Freedman Mission in Zenda. The Athens Cemetery marked adjacent to the chapel, allowed for the ex-slaves to have proper burials for family members with grave markers and headstones. A 2003 survey recorded 18 marked graves and a total of 45 burials.
The new landowners of Zenda purchased more land from surrounding white landowners and owned a collective of 31 acres of land by the 20th century. Many residents were “farmhands” or “servants” at the nearby Cyrus Rhodes Farm and Brock's Hotel (present day Camp Horizons). They held individual skills that helped the community prosper. New families settled in the area over the decades, and the population reached 57 in 1880. Some families included Allen, Bidds, Billhimer, Brock, Jackson, Madden, Strother, Watson, and Wilson. In 1882, a separate schoolhouse was built and operated until 1925, when the student size dwindled, and many students transferred to Effinger Street School in Harrisonburg. The population of Zenda increased to 96 in 1900. By 1910, the number of residents began to decline to 33, then to 23 in 1920. Only four Black households remained in 1930: the Temples, Watsons, Wilsons, and Jacksons. The last and only family in Zenda in 1940 were the Watsons. Several factors contributed to the decline of population in Zenda, such as job availability, use of automobiles, the growing Black community in Harrisonburg, the opening of the Lucy F. Simms School, and the migration of African Americans from the rural south to urban areas.
Today, the community of Zenda has faded into history, leaving behind only Long’s Chapel, a solitary home, and two cemeteries. The enduring legacy of Zenda, particularly the Long's Chapel, stands as a poignant reminder of the community's rich past. Zenda a placed were African American could exercise their rights to own land, seek education, marry, and respectfully bury their ancestors. In 2006, restoration efforts began to recover and preserve the history of Long’s Chapel, a task led by the Long’s Chapel Preservation Society and championed by Al and Robin Jenkins.
The members of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ pushed for a Black congregation in Zenda. A chapel was built, overseen by Jacob Long, to serve as a house of worship and an educational center for Black families. Black and white volunteers raised funds for the church construction completed in 1871. Long’s Chapel, or “Old Athens Church,” became the focal point of the freedman settlement of Zenda. Reverend J Brown was the assigned pastor by the United Brethren Virginia Conference to its Virginia Freedman Mission in Zenda. The Athens Cemetery marked adjacent to the chapel, allowed for the ex-slaves to have proper burials for family members with grave markers and headstones. A 2003 survey recorded 18 marked graves and a total of 45 burials.
The new landowners of Zenda purchased more land from surrounding white landowners and owned a collective of 31 acres of land by the 20th century. Many residents were “farmhands” or “servants” at the nearby Cyrus Rhodes Farm and Brock's Hotel (present day Camp Horizons). They held individual skills that helped the community prosper. New families settled in the area over the decades, and the population reached 57 in 1880. Some families included Allen, Bidds, Billhimer, Brock, Jackson, Madden, Strother, Watson, and Wilson. In 1882, a separate schoolhouse was built and operated until 1925, when the student size dwindled, and many students transferred to Effinger Street School in Harrisonburg. The population of Zenda increased to 96 in 1900. By 1910, the number of residents began to decline to 33, then to 23 in 1920. Only four Black households remained in 1930: the Temples, Watsons, Wilsons, and Jacksons. The last and only family in Zenda in 1940 were the Watsons. Several factors contributed to the decline of population in Zenda, such as job availability, use of automobiles, the growing Black community in Harrisonburg, the opening of the Lucy F. Simms School, and the migration of African Americans from the rural south to urban areas.
Today, the community of Zenda has faded into history, leaving behind only Long’s Chapel, a solitary home, and two cemeteries. The enduring legacy of Zenda, particularly the Long's Chapel, stands as a poignant reminder of the community's rich past. Zenda a placed were African American could exercise their rights to own land, seek education, marry, and respectfully bury their ancestors. In 2006, restoration efforts began to recover and preserve the history of Long’s Chapel, a task led by the Long’s Chapel Preservation Society and championed by Al and Robin Jenkins.
