Cross Keys, Virginia

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

Cross Keys
Unincorporated community
Cross Keys Location in Virginia Cross Keys Cross Keys (the United States)
Coordinates: 38°21′27″N 78°50′46″W
Country	United States
State	Virginia
County	Rockingham County

Geography

It is located on State Route 276 south of Harrisonburg.

Cross Keys

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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.

Culture

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.