Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is also the county seat of the surrounding Rockingham County , [ 9 ] although the two are separate jurisdictions. At the census , the population was 51, The city has become a bastion of ethnic and linguistic diversity in recent years.
Over 1, refugees have been settled in Harrisonburg since The earliest documented English exploration of the area prior to settlement was the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition , led by Lt. Alexander Spotswood , who reached Elkton , and whose rangers continued and in likely passed through what is now Harrisonburg.
Harrisonburg, previously known as "Rocktown," was named for Thomas Harrison , a son of English settlers. In , Harrison deeded 2. In , Harrison deeded an additional 50 acres 20 ha. In , trustees chartered a mayor—council form of government, although Harrisonburg was not officially incorporated as an independent city until Today, a council—manager government administers Harrisonburg.
Army Colonel, Turner Ashby — , was killed. The city has expanded in size over the years. When enslaved peoples in the Shenandoah Valley were freed in , they established a town called Newtown near modern-day Harrisonburg. Today, the old city of Newtown is in the Northeast section of Harrisonburg in the area referred to as Downtown Harrisonburg.
The modern Boys and Girls Club of Harrisonburg is located in the old Lucy Simms schoolhouse that was used for Black students in the days of segregation. A large portion of this Black neighborhood was dismantled in the s when — in the name of urban renewal — the city government used federal redevelopment funds from the Housing Act of to force Black families out of their homes and then bulldozed the neighborhood.
