170 North High Street
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22802
Last updated on March 25, 2024
Directions from Jail Hill to Site 2:
  • Starting from the Otterbein Methodist Church Parking Lot (1) on W Market St 
  • Turn right out of the parking lot onto W Market St
  • At the intersection, turn right onto High St (Rt. 42)
  • Take a right at the intersection of High St and W Wolfe St
  • The Strother House is on the right at this intersection. It faces High Street.
William Strother was among the first to purchase land in the Jail Hill area. Strother was born into slavery around 1789 and registered as a freeman in 1925. He was a skilled well-digger, builder of cisterns, and road worker to earn money. Strother purchased a half-acre lot on April 21, 1830, and built his own home. Over the years, he bought and sold properties on Jail Hill. William Strother most likely built this house on the corner of North High Street and West Wolfe Street. He lived in a home on this lot with his wife and three children. After he died in 1865, his family did not inherit the property. Therefore, the city seized the home, and the Strother family was removed from the house in 1976. The home is now privately owned. 
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