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History · McKenney

McKenney’s post office opened in 1900, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1963 on, and the census since 1930.

1900first post office
1on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From McKenney’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How McKenney began

When was McKenney founded?

1900

The McKenney post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 341 in 19302020 census: 457126 years
Founding year: the first McKenney post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about McKenney’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McKenney’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how McKenney’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewU.S. Route 1 Nottoway River Bridge, U.S…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How McKenney came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McKenney.

Read it all →

McKenney is located along a former railroad mainline. The Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad, passing through McKenney from Petersburg, Virginia to Ridgeway Junction (today Norlina, North Carolina), was completed in 1900, at which point it was merged into the Seaboard Air Line (SAL). By 1914, the population of McKenney was estimated by the railroad to be about 300.

This line (dubbed the "S-line" after later mergers) continued to operate until the 1980s and was then abandoned by the CSX Norlina Subdivision. Today McKenney is isolated by this abandonment.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

McKenney, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
U.S. Route 1 Nottoway River Bridge, U.S. Route 1 spanning Nottoway RiverDate?U.S. Route 1 Nottoway River Bridge, U.S. Route 1 span…
Today5 recent
McKenney, Virginia2017McKenney, VirginiaSapony Church2013Sapony ChurchZEHMER FARM, DINWIDDIE COUNTY2007ZEHMER FARM, DINWIDDIE COUNTYMONTROSE; DINWIDDIE COLLEGE2007MONTROSE; DINWIDDIE COLLEGEVAMap-doton-McKenney2005VAMap-doton-McKenney
On the map

McKenney on the map, 1963 to 1972

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of McKenney. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

McKenney on the 1963 USGS mapMcKenney on the 1972 USGS map1963Mc Kenney sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of McKenney.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

U.S. Route 1 Nottoway River Bridge, U.S. Route 1 spanning Nottoway River
Retake this viewU.S. Route 1 Nottoway River Bridge, U.S. Route 1 spanning Nottoway River

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on McKenney’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 7 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
2009
Zehmer Farm
Zehmer Farm
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20 Century Revivals1
Zehmer FarmLate 19th and 20 Century Revivals

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

McKenney, census by census

010020030040050019401960198020002020Peak: 519

Between 341 and 519 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on McKenney’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to McKenney

Nobody well known was born in McKenney itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Joseph CottenAmerican actor · b. 1905
Moses MaloneAmerican basketball player · b. 1955
Toby WingAmerican actress and showgirl · b. 1915
Reggie WilliamsAmerican basketball player · b. 1986
Javonte GreenAmerican basketball player · b. 1993
Jennifer McClellanAmerican politician in Virginia · b. 1972

Questions about McKenney’s history

What year was McKenney founded?

The McKenney post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in McKenney?

One place: the Zehmer Farm (listed 2009).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.