Cross Keys, Virginia

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Cross Keys
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Cross Keys
Location in Virginia
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Cross Keys
Cross Keys (the United States)
Coordinates: 38°21′27″N78°50′46″W / 38.35750°N 78.84611°W / 38.35750; -78.84611
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
State Virginia
County Rockingham County

Cross Keys is an unincorporated community located in Rockingham County, in the U.S. state of Virginia.

Contents

Geography

The community is located on State Route 276, south of Harrisonburg. [1]

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Cross Keys
Location of Cross Keys within the Rockingham County

History

On June 8, 1862, it was the site of the Battle of Cross Keys, a Confederate victory in Jackson's Valley Campaign during the American Civil War.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Cross Keys has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. [2]

Culture

Singers gather around the grave of Ananias Davisson in Cross Keys, following an all-day shape note singing. Davisson Graveside 20150607.png
Singers gather around the grave of Ananias Davisson in Cross Keys, following an all-day shape note singing.

Ananias Davisson, the publisher of the first Southern shape note tunebook, the Kentucky Harmony (1816), is buried in the Cross Keys cemetery. Davisson was from the Shenandoah Valley, but many of the songs were collected during trips to Kentucky and Tennessee. Many of his musical compositions have been republished in the Shenandoah Harmony, and the annual Northern Shenandoah Valley All Day Shenandoah Harmony Singing typically ends with a visit by singers to the Cross Keys cemetery, where they sing Ananias Davisson's "Retirement" at the graveside of the composer.

References

  1. Google Maps (Map). Google.
  2. Climate Summary for Cross Keys, Virginia