Harrisonburg

Harrisonburg is a Virginia historical marker in Harrisonburg, Harrisonburg County, dedicated 1941.

Southeast corner, Court Square, Harrisonburg

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Here Thomas Harrison and wife deeded land for the Rockingham County public buildings, August 5, 1779. The same act established both Louisville, Ky., and Harrisonburg, May, 1780. Named for its founder, the town was also known as Rocktown. It was incorporated in 1849. In its vicinity battles were fought in 1862 and 1864. The present courthouse was built in 1897. Harrisonburg became a city in 1916.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1755 · Virginie, Maryland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1778 · Il Maryland, il Jersey Meridionale, la Delaware. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1794 · Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1822 · Maryland (Lucas, 1822) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1926 · Proposed Shenandoah National Park, Virginia / engraved and printed by the U.S. Geological… (University Library, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Il Maryland, il Jersey Meridionale, la Delaware, 1778, covering the location of Harrisonburg, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Il Maryland, il Jersey Meridionale, la Delaware, 1778, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

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Marker program managed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

More markers nearby

Charlotte Harris Lynched, 6 March 1878same spot
Resilience Amid Resistanceunder 1 mi
Edgar Amos Love (1891-1974)under 1 mi
Newtown Cemeteryunder 1 mi

On the National Register nearby

Rockinghan County Courthouse180 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.