History of African Americans in Harrisonburg |
Last updated on July 3, 2025
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The Harrisonburg Roots Run Deep tour is a self-driving tour that features historic African American sites such as schools, churches, neighborhoods, cemeteries, and businesses and more. The tour starts at Jail Hill and ends at Furious Flower Poetry Center and covers a total of 35 sites. We wish to acknowledge and and give a special thanks to the researchers and contributors to this tour: Billo Harper, Sharon Barber, Jennifer Vickers, Monica Robinson. Robin Lyttle, and Taya Whitley for their assistance. Photos courtesy of Robin Lyttle, Jennifer Vickers, Billo Harper unless stated otherwise in captions.
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African Americans have been present in Harrisonburg since the city's inception in the 1700s. Five enslaved persons were recorded in the 1767 will of Daniel Harrison, whose family were among the earliest settlers. The founder of Harrisonburg, Thomas Harrison, was also a slaveholder. The majority of the early black city residents came to Harrisonburg as enslaved property for agricultural and domestic labor. The enslaved individuals worked on small farms, local businesses, and regional industries. In Rockingham County, no more than eleven percent of the population at any time were enslaved. Although the number was low, it does not diminish the harsh and dehumanizing existence of slavery. Prior to the Civil War, enslaved persons were auctioned off as objects on the Court House grounds in Downtown Harrisonburg. People with friends and families were separated from loved ones by miles.
By 1790, ten percent of the 7,500 population in Rockingham County were enslaved. In 1860, there were 420 slaveholders who enslaved an average of two to nine people. Enslaved persons were often leased to other properties during harvest. According to the 1850 census, Harrisonburg had a population of 713; 64 were black, and 19 were mixed race. The 1860 Harrisonburg census recorded a total of 319 African Americans; 277 were enslaved, and 113 were free. The First Mayor of Harrisonburg, Isaac Hardesty, enslaved three individuals. Most residents in Harrisonburg, on average, enslaved one to three persons. There were 532 free African Americans in Rockingham County in 1860. Freedom was attained by either being born to a free mother, being manumitted by the will of an enslaver, or buying one's freedom from earnings from being leased. In 1822, Cuthbert H. Spangler emancipated Jacob after Jacob earned $500 in wages by being hired out. Freed black people faced restrictions when seeking jobs, education, and social life. Some live with white families as domestic or farm workers. They were often not allowed churches or schools. However, Freepersons could own property, and the many that did lived in the Jail Hill area of Harrisonburg.
The Newtown neighborhood was the heart of Harrisonburg's African American community. After slavery was abolished in 1865 by the 13th Amendment and the Civil War ended, a multitude of formerly enslaved African American men, women, and children in Rockingham County migrated to Harrisonburg. They settled in the city's northeast section, known as Zirkle's Addition, which was farmland open to residential development. This area extended from downtown Harrisonburg (East Wolfe Street and Federal Street) to the city's northeast section (East Johnson Street). The first lots purchased from Zirkle's Addition were for the Newtown Cemetery in 1869 by trustees George Hermon, Squire Polland, Jessie Banks, Stephen Hughes, and Harrison Green. The 1877 Cray Map shows 20 or more residents in the vicinity of Zirkle's Addition. An 1885 map shows about 50 residences in the area. Ambrose Dallard and William Johnson were among the early settlers who purchased land and built homes in the area. More black residents moved into the area and purchased many lots in Zirkle's Addition. The new settlement was annexed by the city of Harrisonburg in 1892 and began to be referred to as Newtown. The African American population in Harrisonburg grew from 997 in 1880 to 1,200 by 1920.
African Americans constructed and added to their community by establishing more homes, churches, and businesses. Historic black churches, including John Wesley Methodist Church (1865), First Baptist Church (1871), and The United Brethren in Christ Church (later Bethel AME Church), were established in the early years of Newtown. The Freedmen's Bureau was present in Harrisonburg in 1865 and sponsored the opening of a one-room school by Blacks Run in 1870. Effinger Street School was built in 1882 to expand African American education in Harrisonburg and to alleviate crowded conditions in neighboring Rockingham County Public Schools. Harrisonburg Colored School, more commonly known as Effinger Street School, was a segregated black school that became the center for community activity. After almost 60 years of operation, a new school was established in 1939. The Lucy F. Simms School was a hub for the community, serving multiple purposes, including hosting social events and meetings. Over the years, Newtown grew and flourished, and a segregated community park and pool were built.
In the 1960s, Newtown suffered destruction and losses due to the federal Urban Renewal (UR) policy. The city of Harrisonburg received funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for redevelopment through the Housing Act of 1949. The municipality declared eminent domain of homes and businesses in Newtown and forced black families and business owners to sell and leave their properties. Over a hundred Harrisonburg citizens were displaced. The policy became known as "Project R-4" and included the area bounded by North Main, Broad, Johnson, and Rock streets. A tag-on policy, "Project R-16," targeted the area from Gay Street to East Elizabeth Street. Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority was organized on November 29, 1955, and given authority over the UR projects. The city classified the low socioeconomic area of Newtown as a slum or blighted to justify its urban renewal efforts. It was difficult for families to reestablish themselves, and they often had to rely on government housing support or relocate. These drastic changes diminished black entrepreneurship, property ownership, and social life. The historic First Baptist Church, located on East Wolfe Street, was demolished and rebuilt on Broad Street. The loss of the home of Henry and Savilla Vickers at 1381 East Wolfe Street highlights the personal impact of urban renewal. The Rockingham County Administration Center, Roses department store, 7-Eleven, and the Elizabeth Street parking garage have replaced part of the once-vibrant black community. Project R-4 intended to address the acute housing crisis by removing blighted housing in the Newtown area. The positive results would include increased tax revenue and commercial development, with blighted housing being replaced by new low-income housing. Project R-16 was intended to address the vision of a future dependent on automobile travel, parking needs, and the need for a transit-type facility. The positive results would address the need to revitalize the downtown business district and provide more automobile accessibility through modernized, widened streets and expanded parking, thereby attracting shoppers to the downtown area.
Newtown experienced the loss of a tight-knit community where people loved being close to their relatives, school, work, business, and amenities. Through grant funding received in September 2023 from Smart Growth America and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Community Connectors program aims to assist communities across America that have been hindered in their public transportation and socioeconomic growth by urban renewal projects. Harrisonburg was one of the fifteen cities selected for the grant to repair the harm done by the city. The goal is to enable community stakeholders to lead engagement programs that reestablish trust and comfort among members of the northeast neighborhood by creating a small area plan that outlines goals and plans for the area.
The Newtown neighborhood was the heart of Harrisonburg's African American community. After slavery was abolished in 1865 by the 13th Amendment and the Civil War ended, a multitude of formerly enslaved African American men, women, and children in Rockingham County migrated to Harrisonburg. They settled in the city's northeast section, known as Zirkle's Addition, which was farmland open to residential development. This area extended from downtown Harrisonburg (East Wolfe Street and Federal Street) to the city's northeast section (East Johnson Street). The first lots purchased from Zirkle's Addition were for the Newtown Cemetery in 1869 by trustees George Hermon, Squire Polland, Jessie Banks, Stephen Hughes, and Harrison Green. The 1877 Cray Map shows 20 or more residents in the vicinity of Zirkle's Addition. An 1885 map shows about 50 residences in the area. Ambrose Dallard and William Johnson were among the early settlers who purchased land and built homes in the area. More black residents moved into the area and purchased many lots in Zirkle's Addition. The new settlement was annexed by the city of Harrisonburg in 1892 and began to be referred to as Newtown. The African American population in Harrisonburg grew from 997 in 1880 to 1,200 by 1920.
African Americans constructed and added to their community by establishing more homes, churches, and businesses. Historic black churches, including John Wesley Methodist Church (1865), First Baptist Church (1871), and The United Brethren in Christ Church (later Bethel AME Church), were established in the early years of Newtown. The Freedmen's Bureau was present in Harrisonburg in 1865 and sponsored the opening of a one-room school by Blacks Run in 1870. Effinger Street School was built in 1882 to expand African American education in Harrisonburg and to alleviate crowded conditions in neighboring Rockingham County Public Schools. Harrisonburg Colored School, more commonly known as Effinger Street School, was a segregated black school that became the center for community activity. After almost 60 years of operation, a new school was established in 1939. The Lucy F. Simms School was a hub for the community, serving multiple purposes, including hosting social events and meetings. Over the years, Newtown grew and flourished, and a segregated community park and pool were built.
In the 1960s, Newtown suffered destruction and losses due to the federal Urban Renewal (UR) policy. The city of Harrisonburg received funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for redevelopment through the Housing Act of 1949. The municipality declared eminent domain of homes and businesses in Newtown and forced black families and business owners to sell and leave their properties. Over a hundred Harrisonburg citizens were displaced. The policy became known as "Project R-4" and included the area bounded by North Main, Broad, Johnson, and Rock streets. A tag-on policy, "Project R-16," targeted the area from Gay Street to East Elizabeth Street. Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority was organized on November 29, 1955, and given authority over the UR projects. The city classified the low socioeconomic area of Newtown as a slum or blighted to justify its urban renewal efforts. It was difficult for families to reestablish themselves, and they often had to rely on government housing support or relocate. These drastic changes diminished black entrepreneurship, property ownership, and social life. The historic First Baptist Church, located on East Wolfe Street, was demolished and rebuilt on Broad Street. The loss of the home of Henry and Savilla Vickers at 1381 East Wolfe Street highlights the personal impact of urban renewal. The Rockingham County Administration Center, Roses department store, 7-Eleven, and the Elizabeth Street parking garage have replaced part of the once-vibrant black community. Project R-4 intended to address the acute housing crisis by removing blighted housing in the Newtown area. The positive results would include increased tax revenue and commercial development, with blighted housing being replaced by new low-income housing. Project R-16 was intended to address the vision of a future dependent on automobile travel, parking needs, and the need for a transit-type facility. The positive results would address the need to revitalize the downtown business district and provide more automobile accessibility through modernized, widened streets and expanded parking, thereby attracting shoppers to the downtown area.
Newtown experienced the loss of a tight-knit community where people loved being close to their relatives, school, work, business, and amenities. Through grant funding received in September 2023 from Smart Growth America and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Community Connectors program aims to assist communities across America that have been hindered in their public transportation and socioeconomic growth by urban renewal projects. Harrisonburg was one of the fifteen cities selected for the grant to repair the harm done by the city. The goal is to enable community stakeholders to lead engagement programs that reestablish trust and comfort among members of the northeast neighborhood by creating a small area plan that outlines goals and plans for the area.
Download a PDF file of the Roots Run Deep Harrisonburg, Virginia booket (1st Ed, 2022) below.
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