80 Court Square
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Last updated April 30, 2024
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Directions from Court Square to site 30:
- The marker stands on the south east corner of Court Square
In 2020, a historical marker was added to the Courthouse grounds in Downtown Harrisonburg. The marker tells the story of a young African American girl named Charlotte Harris. In March of 1878, in Rockingham County, Charlotte Harris was accused of allegedly burning down a barn owned by a white farmer. She was placed under arrest and remained guarded until her trial. On the night of March 6, 1878, disguised armed men kidnapped Harris from her holding cell and took her from the jail, which was 13 miles southeast of Court Square. That night, Harris was hung by a tree and killed. Harris is the only documented African American woman lynched in Virginia. Following her death, a grand jury failed to identify those responsible for her death.
The historical marker in her memory reads: “About a dozen disguised people took Charlotte Harris from the custody of jailers in eastern Rockingham County on the night of March 6, 1878, and hanged her from a tree approximately 13 miles southeast of here. This is the only documented lynching of an African American woman in Virginia, and it received nationwide attention. A grand jury that met here failed to identify any of the lynchers. Harris had been accused of inciting a young African American man to burn the barn of a white farmer. This man was later acquitted of all charges. More than 4,000 lynchings took place in the United States between 1877 and 1950; more than 100 people, primarily African American men, were lynched in Virginia.”
The historical marker in her memory reads: “About a dozen disguised people took Charlotte Harris from the custody of jailers in eastern Rockingham County on the night of March 6, 1878, and hanged her from a tree approximately 13 miles southeast of here. This is the only documented lynching of an African American woman in Virginia, and it received nationwide attention. A grand jury that met here failed to identify any of the lynchers. Harris had been accused of inciting a young African American man to burn the barn of a white farmer. This man was later acquitted of all charges. More than 4,000 lynchings took place in the United States between 1877 and 1950; more than 100 people, primarily African American men, were lynched in Virginia.”
References
“Charlotte Harris in Rockingham,” Racial Terror: Lynching in Virginia, accessed 13 Mar. 2024, https://sites.lib.jmu.edu/valynchings/VA1878030601/.
“Charlotte Harris Lynched,” The Historical Marker Database, last revised 2 Feb. 2023, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=158137.
Stephanie Penn, “Charlotte Harris historical marker unveiled in Court Square,” WSHV3, 26 Sep. 2020, https://www.whsv.com/2020/09/26/charlotte-harris-historical-marker-unveiled-in-court-square/.
“Charlotte Harris in Rockingham,” Racial Terror: Lynching in Virginia, accessed 13 Mar. 2024, https://sites.lib.jmu.edu/valynchings/VA1878030601/.
“Charlotte Harris Lynched,” The Historical Marker Database, last revised 2 Feb. 2023, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=158137.
Stephanie Penn, “Charlotte Harris historical marker unveiled in Court Square,” WSHV3, 26 Sep. 2020, https://www.whsv.com/2020/09/26/charlotte-harris-historical-marker-unveiled-in-court-square/.