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      • Rockingham County Bronze Turkey Statue
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    • Town of Luray >
      • Ulysses Simpson Grant Fry Restaurant
      • Tutt's Tavern and Home
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      • Butler's Store and Home
      • Jackson Store and Home
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      • Tutt's Upholstery and Slaughterhouse
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      • Earl Harris Barber Shop
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    • City of Harrisonburg Tour >
      • Jail Hill
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      • Hite Family Home
      • Peters' Family Properties
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      • Roberta Webb's Home
      • Historic Broad Street Mennonite Church
      • First Baptist Church (Present Day)
      • Stuart’s Little Record Shop
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      • Dallard-Newman House
      • Lucy F. Simms' Home
      • Lucy F. Simms School
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      • Ott Dependency
      • Hardesty-Higgins House Visitor Center
      • Harry Lee's Shoe Shine Parlor
      • Rockingham County Courthouse
      • Charlotte Harris Historical Marker
      • Elon Rhodes Barbershop
      • World War I Memorial
      • Furious Flower Poetry Center
      • Harrisonburg-Rockingham County NAACP
    • Rockingham County Tour >
      • Valley Pike
      • Smithland Historic Home
      • Long's Chapel and Cemetery
      • Wilson and Fortune Cemetery
      • Residents of Zenda
      • Pickering’s Farmland Enslaved Burials
      • Tenth Legion Churches
      • Tunker Monument
      • Moore Family Burial Ground
      • Linville Creek Church of the Brethren Cemetery
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      • Bergton Fairgrounds
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      • Daniel Harrison House (Fort Harrison)
      • Rocktown History
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      • Marshall Jones House
      • Bogota Farm
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      • Jonathan Peale House
      • Riverbank Plantation
      • Blakey Farm
      • New Hope Church and Cemetery
      • McGaheyville's Rosenwald School
      • Mt. Sinai Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Bible Way Church of God in Christ and Cemetery
      • St. Hebron Baptist Church Cemetery and Greenwood Family Cemetery
      • St. Hebron Baptist Church
      • Mt. Paran Church Lot
      • Newtown School of East Elkton
      • St. Paul United Methodist Church and Cemetery
      • Elk Run Cemetery
      • Rockingham County Bronze Turkey Statue
    • Augusta County Tour >
      • Mount Sydney Schoolhouse No.27
      • Spring Hill Negro Cemetery
      • Fairview Cemetery
      • Kenneth L. Jones Funeral Home
      • Pannell’s Inn
      • Richmond Beneficial Company
      • Franklin T. Jones Tourist Home
      • D. Webster Davis School
      • Abbot’s Beauty School
      • Mount Zion Baptist Church
      • The Snack Shop
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      • Effie Ann Johnson Nursery School
      • Staunton Tribune
      • Augusta Street United Methodist Church
      • Charles L. Johnson’s Restaurant
      • Cabell Log House
      • Kier’s Tailoring and Alteration Service
      • Dr. C.J. Waller and Oscar W. Marshall
      • Colored Masonic Mount Zion Lodge No. 18
      • John Chiles Dental Office
      • The Peoples Dime Savings Bank
      • Crawford’s Barbershop
      • J. H. Gibson Grocery Store
      • Free School for Colored Children No. 2
      • James M Morris, Attorney-at-Law
      • Green Street
      • Vickers Way
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      • Queen Miller Orphanage
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      • Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • North Park Pool
      • Fairview Cemetery (Waynesboro)
      • Waynesboro’s Rosenwald School
      • Dr. Philip A. Hilton & Dr. Chavis Home and Office
      • Pleasant View United Methodist Church
      • McCutcheon’s Funeral Home
      • Abraham Hall
      • Shiloh Baptist Church
      • Elks Lodge
      • Tarry’s Hotel
      • Union Baptist Church
      • Steadfast Church of God in Christ and Cemetery
      • Beulah Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Hatton Pond Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Greenville Cemetery
      • Fannie Thompson House
      • Oak Hill Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Staunton NAACP & Waynesboro NAACP
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Harrisonburg Tour Site 5

Peters' Family Properties

180 E Market Street
Harrisonburg, VA 22802

Last updated on July 3, 2025
Directions from Hite Family Home to site 5:
  • Turn left onto N Main St​
  • Then turn right onto E Rock St 
  • Then make a right onto N Mason St 
  • Site 5 is in 800 feet on the right 
The Peters family is a notable example of black property ownership before the Civil War. They were well-known for several successful businesses. Joshua Peters was born free in Cumberland County in 1783. He was "bound out" to a salesperson by authorities because his parents were unable to support their child financially. He was under the care of a saddle-maker until the age of 21. Joshua moved to Harrisonburg and met his wife, Sally Fortune, a free woman. With the skills he acquired in his youth, Joshua opened his shop and began making saddles and harnesses. His shop was on East Market Street next to his home.
 
William Peters was one of five children of Joshua and Sally Peters. He followed in his father's footsteps, learned how to make saddles and harnesses, and would later inherit his father's business after Joshua's passing. William became a successful businessman before the Civil War. He owned several properties, including six houses, a saddle-making shop, a blacksmith shop, and a livery. William was a community leader and helped his peers financially. William married his wife Harriet Boswell, a free woman, around 1837 and had a son named Jason. In 1850, William and his family moved into the former home of the Harriet family, located on the corner of North Main Street and West Rock Street. William and Harriet rented several properties to free black residents.
 
After the Civil War, William and his family contributed a new lot for John Wesley Methodist Church trustees in 1866 and helped purchase land for a black school on West Rock Street in 1867. However, due to Williams's support for the Union during the Civil War, William experienced financial hardships following the war. Troops stole multiple items from William, including crops and animals. Over the years, William Peters accumulated debt and was forced to sell several properties. In his final years, Williams experienced poverty and misfortune. Williams died in 1881. In his obituary, William was praised as a model citizen. Harriet lived in the Peters' home until she died in 1884. The legal status of the remaining properties was uncertain. The remaining two homes connected to the Peters family were torn down in 1903. 


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  • Home
  • About
  • Tours
    • Frederick County Tour >
      • Mt. Zion Cemetery
      • Senseney Avenue
      • Belle Grove Plantation
      • Stephens City's Rosenwald School
      • Locust Grove Cemetery
      • Orrick Chapel
      • Crossroads/Freetown
      • Tokes Inn
      • Dr. Sarah Brown House
      • Winchester
    • Clarke/Warren Counties Tour >
      • Lewisville Community
      • Clifton Farm Slave Quarters
      • Bristow Community
      • Webbtown Community
      • Clermont Farm
      • Blackburn Town
      • Clarke County Courthouse
      • Josephine City
      • Josephine School Community Museum
      • Annefield Farm
      • Old Chapel
      • Little Chapel (Claytonville)
      • Browntown
      • Millwood
      • Enslaved Burials at Blandy Farm
      • White Post
      • Sugar Hill
      • Stone Bridge
      • Smoketown
      • Happy Creek Loop
      • Good Hope Cemetery
      • Ressie Jeffries Elementary
      • Front Royal Colored School
      • Warren County High School
      • Prospect Hill Cemetery
      • Freetown/Southtown
      • Mount Vernon Baptist Church
      • Williams Chapel
      • Warren Heritage Society
      • Henrico Baltimore Family Cemetery
    • Shenandoah/Page Counties Tour >
      • Mt. Zion Baptist Church and Naked Creek Colored School
      • Catherine Furnace
      • Stony Man
      • Pass Run
      • Hamburg African American Regular School
      • St. John's Baptist Church
      • Rockingham County Bronze Turkey Statue
      • French’s Fence line Burials
      • Steptoe Barber Shop
      • Jessie Rupert Schoolhouse
      • Zion Baptist Church and School
      • Durrett’s Cleaners
      • Asbury Memorial Methodist Church
      • Corhaven Graveyard
      • Calvary Methodist Church and School
      • First Baptist Church
      • Mount Jackson Colored Cemetery
      • Cemetery at Lantz Mill
      • Columbia Furnace
      • Liberty Furnace
      • Wolf Gap
      • Riverview Cemetery
      • Creekside Elementary School
      • Mt. Zion Methodist Church
      • Woodstock “Colored School” (1867-1937)
      • Spengler Home
      • Esbie Baptist Church
      • Sunset Hill School
    • Town of Luray >
      • Ulysses Simpson Grant Fry Restaurant
      • Tutt's Tavern and Home
      • Bethel Baptist Church
      • Bethany Veney Historical Marker
      • West Luray School
      • Butler's Store and Home
      • Jackson Store and Home
      • St. John Baptist Church
      • Jackie's Beauty Salon
      • Historic Andrew Jackson School Museum
      • Thomas Dougans Taxi Cab Co.
      • Tutt's Auto
      • Tutt's Upholstery and Slaughterhouse
      • Wright's Restaurant
      • Midway Inn
      • King's Restaurant
      • Earl Harris Barber Shop
      • Little Angels Daycare
      • Emmett Arthur Dougans Bridge
      • Hillside Cemetery
    • City of Harrisonburg Tour >
      • Jail Hill
      • William Strother House
      • Jeremiah Gibson Properties
      • Hite Family Home
      • Peters' Family Properties
      • The Blue Circle 30 Club
      • First Baptist Church
      • Doc Dickerson's House
      • Ida Mae Francis Tourist Home
      • Blakey's Barbershop and Upholstery
      • The Colonnade
      • Mary Awkard-Fairfax' Home
      • Effinger Street School
      • Roberta Webb's Home
      • Historic Broad Street Mennonite Church
      • First Baptist Church (Present Day)
      • Stuart’s Little Record Shop
      • Bethel AME Church
      • Dallard-Newman House
      • Lucy F. Simms' Home
      • Lucy F. Simms School
      • Ralph Sampson Park
      • Harris Pool
      • Newtown Cemetery
      • John Wesley United Methodist Church
      • Edgar Amos Love Historical Marker
      • Exchange Club Park
      • Ott Dependency
      • Hardesty-Higgins House Visitor Center
      • Harry Lee's Shoe Shine Parlor
      • Rockingham County Courthouse
      • Charlotte Harris Historical Marker
      • Elon Rhodes Barbershop
      • World War I Memorial
      • Furious Flower Poetry Center
      • Harrisonburg-Rockingham County NAACP
    • Rockingham County Tour >
      • Valley Pike
      • Smithland Historic Home
      • Long's Chapel and Cemetery
      • Wilson and Fortune Cemetery
      • Residents of Zenda
      • Pickering’s Farmland Enslaved Burials
      • Tenth Legion Churches
      • Tunker Monument
      • Moore Family Burial Ground
      • Linville Creek Church of the Brethren Cemetery
      • Issac Riddle Farm African American Cemetery
      • Bergton Fairgrounds
      • Lincoln Homestead and Family Cemetery
      • Mannheim Plantation
      • Oak Grove Church and Cemetery
      • Daniel Harrison House (Fort Harrison)
      • Rocktown History
      • Spring Creek Negro Cemetery
      • North River Baptist Church
      • Greenwood Cemetery
      • Roscoe Burgess Sr. Riverwalk
      • Mt. Crawford Community Cemetery
      • Mt. Moriah United Methodist Church and Cemetery
      • Marshall Jones House
      • Bogota Farm
      • Dungeon's Chapel and Cemetery
      • Jonathan Peale House
      • Riverbank Plantation
      • Blakey Farm
      • New Hope Church and Cemetery
      • McGaheyville's Rosenwald School
      • Mt. Sinai Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Bible Way Church of God in Christ and Cemetery
      • St. Hebron Baptist Church Cemetery and Greenwood Family Cemetery
      • St. Hebron Baptist Church
      • Mt. Paran Church Lot
      • Newtown School of East Elkton
      • St. Paul United Methodist Church and Cemetery
      • Elk Run Cemetery
      • Rockingham County Bronze Turkey Statue
    • Augusta County Tour >
      • Mount Sydney Schoolhouse No.27
      • Spring Hill Negro Cemetery
      • Fairview Cemetery
      • Kenneth L. Jones Funeral Home
      • Pannell’s Inn
      • Richmond Beneficial Company
      • Franklin T. Jones Tourist Home
      • D. Webster Davis School
      • Abbot’s Beauty School
      • Mount Zion Baptist Church
      • The Snack Shop
      • Ebenezer Baptist Church
      • Effie Ann Johnson Nursery School
      • Staunton Tribune
      • Augusta Street United Methodist Church
      • Charles L. Johnson’s Restaurant
      • Cabell Log House
      • Kier’s Tailoring and Alteration Service
      • Dr. C.J. Waller and Oscar W. Marshall
      • Colored Masonic Mount Zion Lodge No. 18
      • John Chiles Dental Office
      • The Peoples Dime Savings Bank
      • Crawford’s Barbershop
      • J. H. Gibson Grocery Store
      • Free School for Colored Children No. 2
      • James M Morris, Attorney-at-Law
      • Green Street
      • Vickers Way
      • Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church
      • Queen Miller Orphanage
      • Central Augusta High School
      • Community United Methodist Church
      • Cedar Green Negro Cemeteries
      • Augusta County Training School
      • Hunter Cemetery at Shady Oak Station
      • Smokey Row Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Montgomery Hall Park
      • T.C. Edmunds School
      • Booker T. Washington High School
      • Uniontown
      • Beverly Manor Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Mt. Marine Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Oak Grove Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Oak Grove Elementary School
      • New Hope Churches and Schoolhouse
      • Crimora School
      • Morning Star Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • North Park Pool
      • Fairview Cemetery (Waynesboro)
      • Waynesboro’s Rosenwald School
      • Dr. Philip A. Hilton & Dr. Chavis Home and Office
      • Pleasant View United Methodist Church
      • McCutcheon’s Funeral Home
      • Abraham Hall
      • Shiloh Baptist Church
      • Elks Lodge
      • Tarry’s Hotel
      • Union Baptist Church
      • Steadfast Church of God in Christ and Cemetery
      • Beulah Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Hatton Pond Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Greenville Cemetery
      • Fannie Thompson House
      • Oak Hill Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Staunton NAACP & Waynesboro NAACP
  • Exhibit
  • Local Black Businesses
  • Donate
  • Feedback
  • Press