 Emmanuel Episcopal Church Cemetery Virginia Beach, VA
Emmanuel Episcopal Church sits in a corridor of much historical significance. Directly across heavily traveled Princess Anne Road is Pleasant Hall, the colonial home which hosted the 1775 Ball celebrating the colonial victory in the Revolutionary War's Battle of Great Bridge. Nearby stood the Princess Anne Courthouse in use when the Constitution of the United States was signed in 1787. The need for an Episcopal Church in Kempsville was addressed in 1840 at a time when the Lynnhaven Parish church, Old Donation, lay in ruins. The church was completed in July 1843 on land donated by David Walke. It remains an active thriving congregation in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia. The Cemetery sits to the rear of the church sanctuary in a courtyard surrounded on three sides by the sanctuary and the church's new educational addition. A nicely landscaped Columbarium sits slightly to the east of the cemetery area in the same courtyard. The columbarium, which contains more contemporary internments, is not a part of this enumeration. Cemetery Photographed May 15, 2004 In the right of way fronting the church
parking lot sits the historical marker that commemorates Kempsville's
history. Kempsville K 272 Originally known as Kemp's Landing, Kempsville is located at the head of the eastern branch of the Elizabeth River. By the middle 1700's it had become an important port community. Colonial Governor Lord Dunmore's forces fought the Princess Anne County militia at Kemps Landing on 14/15 November 1775 for possession of the strategically important bridge there. After a brief engagement the military retreated. Established as a town in 1783, Kempsville served as the county seat of Princess Anne county from 1778 to about 1823. Princess Anne County was consolidated with the City of Virginia Beach in 1963 and the town became part of the city. |
Today the nearby convergence of Princess Anne and Kempsville
Roads is widely accepted as the center of "downtown" Kempsville.
In the near future road work will begin to facilitate traffic flow through
the heavily congested intersection. Lets hope that the modernization does
not destroy any historical and archeological vestiges still remaining
from the years in which Kempsville played a predominant role in the area's
commerce and government. 
Gertrude Campbell
