Before the Zuni Historical Society
Before the Zuni Historical Society was offically formed, there was Jane March. Jane March is the author of Zoo-Nye: A Story of the Village. She talks a little bit about herself in the book, as excerpted here:
"I married into the Johnson family of Zuni in 1966, and took up housekeeping, raising children and other assorted animals, with nary a thought about the little village up the road. Life passed by with its ups and downs as life generally does. Thirty or so years later, as I had had time to learn more about people and the area where I lived, I realized that as the old folks died, so did the knowledge of the history of a town that has almost disappeared. I began to be really interested in this little town with the unusual name."
Jane spent eight years researching the history of Zuni before she published her book, and she has dedicated well
over a decade to preserving and promoting the history of Zuni, Virginia. She worked diligently to obtain a historical marker for Zuni, and she formed the foundation for the Zuni Historical Society. You can learn a little more about Jane's efforts to preserve Zuni through her newsletters and links to articles written about her and by her below.
After the publication of her book, Jane March set up a website to promote her book. In reality, the website was a vehicle to generate interest in her love of the town of Zuni, Virginia. The book can still be purchased at local businesses, but the website has been taken down. The Zuni Historical Society has preserved a few of the documents from that website and they can be accessed below:
Now for Bigger Things! Jane March's first public announcement after the publication of Zoo-Nye: A Story of the Village.
Newsletters published by Jane March:
- Zuni Historical Society Newsletter Volume I • Issue I • June 2007
- Zuni Historical Society Newsletter Volume I • Issue 2 • December 2007
- Zuni Historical Society Newsletter Volume 2 • Issue 1 • December 2008
Articles Written about Jane March:
- Suffolk Sun—Merle Monahan wrote an article about how Jane marched on little Zuni.
- Daily Press—Veronica Gorley Chufo wrote an article with a video about Zuni.
Jane March also designed the Zuni Historical Society's logo, as seen to the left. The image represents the village, the peanut and railroad industry, as well as the importance of the Blackwater River to the village of Zuni, Virginia.