Lost Cause Sites

Lost Cause Sites in Harrisonburg: Friendly City Inn, Darcus-Johnson Hall, and the Turner Ashby Monument

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Introduction

In the decades following the Civil War, a group was founded called the Daughters of the Confederacy. Its purpose was to justify and glorify the Confederacy. This “Lost Cause” movement was one type of Civil War memorialization aimed at guiding the narrative of the past. In the late 1800s, the Daughters of the Confederacy placed many monuments to Southern war heroes all across the states of the South. The trend of memorializing the Civil War to the benefit of the South continues to the present day. During the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter Protests in the summer of 2020, many of the monuments that were on public property were taken down.

Friendly City Inn

 

The Friendly City Inn, formerly known as the Stonewall Jackson Inn, is a bed and breakfast located in historic downtown Harrisonburg. Ownership of the historic home has changed over time, and is currently owned by Joel and Becca Graham as of 2019. The Inn gained media attention in 2020 for its plans to change the name of the Inn. Once an example of Confederate memorialization, the Inn serves as an example of what the lost cause movement means for locality, and how sites evolve over time. The transition from the Stonewall Jackson Inn to the Friendly City Inn as it stands today shows how history can be preserved and honored without needing to include confederate history. From the local level to national scale, sites like these are important lenses from which to view the effects of the lost cause movement.

 

 

Darcus Johnson Hall

Darcus Johnson Hall was originally named Jackson Hall, named such after the Confederate General Stonewall Jackson.  The naming of Jackson Hall was done in 1918 part of the Lost Cause movement which was prevalent in this time. Jackson Hall originally served to be a residence and dining hall.  The Hall would be temporarily renamed to the Justice Studies Hall during the deliberation of the new names when there was an effort made to rename the buildings named after Confederate figures such as Jackson Hall.  JMU’s Board of Visitors in July 2020 would vote to remove the names prior and use the temporary names in the meantime.  After months of consideration taken by JMU Leadership, the named Justice Studies Hall at that time would be renamed to what it be called currently, Darcus Johnson Hall, named after Dr. Sheary Darcus Johnson, the first black Student that JMU would have that would also graduate from JMU.  The renaming of this building represents a greater push to try and capture an often overlooked history of marginalized groups and place emphasis on those stories rather than an act of naming to help establish a revisionist version of the past.

Turner Ashby Monument

The Turner Ashby Monument was entered into the rolls of both the Virginia and National Historic Sites lists in 2017. Civil War memorialization has become so prevalent and accepted that the Federal government is commemorating the site of the death of a Confederate general. The monument is on private property and as such the city of Harrisonburg cannot direct its removal. Emotions run high on this controversial issue. The vandalism of the monument and its later defacement have proven that people will allow their emotions to color their judgement. As Friendly City Innkeeper Joel Graham stated about the defacement, “It makes you wish you could get everyone to sit in a room together and have a civil conversation.” This seems like a much more reasonable alternative than taking a chisel to a block of stone.

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Sources used for Friendly City Inn:

Sources used for Darcus Johnson Hall:

  • “Jackson Hall.” History and Context, sites.lib.jmu.edu/historyandcontext/2019/04/13/jackson-hall/. Accessed 30 Oct. 2023. 
  • “JMU Leadership Approves New Names for Three Buildings on Campus.” JMU, 19 Feb. 2021, www.jmu.edu/news/2021/02/19-bov-buildings-renamed.shtml. 
  • Tyree, Elizabeth. “JMU to Change 3 Buildings Named after Confederate Soldiers.” WSET, wset.com/news/local/jmu-to-change-3-buildings-named-after-confederate-soldiers. Accessed 30 Oct. 2023. 

Sources used for Turner Ashby Monument:

  • Virginia Department of Historic Resources. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/115-5063/.
  • Stewart, Caleb, Hood, John. WHSV3 News. “Confederate Monument in Harrisonburg Vandalized with Red Paint.” https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Confederate-monument-in-Harrisonburg-vandalized-with-red-paint-567524841.html.

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to:

Joel and Becca Graham, owners of the Friendly City Inn, for giving permission to both take the photographs as well as publish them online.

The Academic Unit Head, Dr. Peggy Plass, for giving permission to take photos at Darcus Johnson Hall.