184 Kelley Street
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Last updated on July 15, 2024
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Directions from the Historic Mennonite Church to site 16:
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The historic Dallard-Newman House is one of Harrisonburg’s oldest and most enduring monuments to African American history. Its history begins at the Riverbank Plantation in Elkton, VA, with formerly enslaved twin brothers Ambrose and Rueben Dallard. After the Civil War, the Dallards contributed to the black community of Zenda. The Dallards were trustees at Long's Chapel in. Zenda. A few years later, the Dallard brothers helped establish Harrisonburg’s Newtown neighborhood with William Johnson. Dallards and Johnson brought property in the northeast section of Harrisonburg and assisted in the construction of another house and a church. Ambrose Dallard purchased a lot of the Zirkle’s Addition in 1878, and a home was constructed in the 1890s that is still standing on Kelley Street. The house was for Ambrose’s daughter Lucy. Ambrose’s daughter, Mary Dallard, and her husband, George A. Newman, moved into the home after Lucy relocated in 1907.
George A. Newman was born free in Winchester, Virginia in 1855. As a child, he worked as a servant for a family and received primary education. Newman sought further education as a young adult and became the schoolmaster in Warren County. He came to Harrisonburg to accept a teaching position at a mission school on Blacks Run and met his wife, Margaret Dallard. Newman became the principal at Effinger Street School and then a teacher at Lucy F. Simms School and served 28 years in the city school system. He also had several other occupations and was an active community member, including organizing the Bethel United Brethren in Christ Church in Harrisonburg. The Dallard-Newman house is one of the few African American homes to survive the 1960s Urban Renewal Projects that targeted the black community. It remained in the family until 2015, upon the death of Mary Carlotta Newman, the youngest daughter of George Newman, and his second wife, Mary F. Dillard.
This structure is worthy of preservation in the Northeast Community and symbolizes endurance, community, family, and history. The Northeast Neighborhood Association, a black-run community serving non-profit organization, initiated renovations to convert the standing structure into a museum that will be an educational resource telling the history of African American families in the Northeast neighborhood.
George A. Newman was born free in Winchester, Virginia in 1855. As a child, he worked as a servant for a family and received primary education. Newman sought further education as a young adult and became the schoolmaster in Warren County. He came to Harrisonburg to accept a teaching position at a mission school on Blacks Run and met his wife, Margaret Dallard. Newman became the principal at Effinger Street School and then a teacher at Lucy F. Simms School and served 28 years in the city school system. He also had several other occupations and was an active community member, including organizing the Bethel United Brethren in Christ Church in Harrisonburg. The Dallard-Newman house is one of the few African American homes to survive the 1960s Urban Renewal Projects that targeted the black community. It remained in the family until 2015, upon the death of Mary Carlotta Newman, the youngest daughter of George Newman, and his second wife, Mary F. Dillard.
This structure is worthy of preservation in the Northeast Community and symbolizes endurance, community, family, and history. The Northeast Neighborhood Association, a black-run community serving non-profit organization, initiated renovations to convert the standing structure into a museum that will be an educational resource telling the history of African American families in the Northeast neighborhood.
