INTRODUCTION
This project is aimed at documenting the history of Harrisonburg Court Square as well as the history of the Rockingham County Courthouse. This project will cover the history of Court Square as it pertains to its Civil War history, the history of the Courthouses that stood on Court Square before the construction of the current courthouse, the history as well as the significance of the Springhouse, and the history of the commercial buildings found on Court Square. The Courthouse’s history is tied to the wider history of Harrisonburg as well as Rockingham County and with the history embedded in the Courtsquare this project aims to ground the local community in the important history of the local community that has contributed to the formation of Harrisonburg identity as well as with how the County deals with its past.
CIVIL WAR HISTORY
With the Civil War being the most significant event in Harrisonburg and Rockingham county history, the Rockingham courthouse serves as a historic landmark for the county. The Rockingham County courthouse is a part of the Civil War trials which aims to direct visitors to well-known and lesser-known events from the Civil War. The Courthouse during the Civil War served as a temporary prison camp for Union Soldiers after the first Battle of Winchester in 1862. The courthouse fell under the control of both Confederate and Union forces. Within the Courthouse grounds a visitor will come across a domed structure with Tuscan columns. This structure is the Big Spring house which was utilized as a drinking station by both Confederate and Union forces as well as civilians. The spring connects to the long history of the valley as Native Americans and later on white settlers, used the spring to refresh themselves. Its use as a site of rejuvenation for Union and Confederate soldiers has made the spring a valuable piece as well as a reminder of the broader history of the town of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. The Spring House is also an example of how ordinary people in history contributed to the making and preservation of history with how members of the Rockingham community contributed to the restoration and preservation of the old Spring House. The Courthouse archives contain partially burnt documents that survived the burning of a wagon by Union soldiers that was used to transport important court records and papers. Some of these documents included slavery papers, connecting to a more uncomfortable aspect of the country’s history. The courthouse, with its deep Civil War history, connects to the painful past of slavery as members of the Black community view it as a reminder of the legal institution of slavery as well as the potential injustices of the antebellum judicial system.
COURTHOUSE HISTORY
The courthouse itself has gone through many changes over the course of its history. Since 1779, five different courthouses have stood in the center of Court Square. That piece of land was sold to the courts by Thomas Harrison along with the famous spring over which the springhouse was erected. The many courthouses would undergo tragedies such as fires, warfare, and dilapidation. However, the center of power stayed focused on that spot in downtown Harrisonburg. The Courthouse History portion of this project chronologically explains how each courthouse was built, when they were constructed, and how they all met their eventual ends.
COMMERCIAL HISTORY
The buildings surrounding the courthouse have perhaps undergone the most change of any in Court Square. The shifting of storefronts reveals much about daily life throughout the decades, as well as more intimate challenges faced by their residents and workers. Along Main Street, various buildings underwent a drastic change at the turn of the century, with many being reconstructed. Meanwhile, the southern side of Court Square underwent changes just as drastic, but at different times for different reasons. All of these changes are echoed in the modern day, and help to paint modern Harrisonburg as a multicultural crossroads engaging more and more with urbanization. Though many historic buildings still stand, others have been razed in favor of modern conveniences, such as parking lots. Through careful observation of Sanborn maps made at the turn of the century and well into the mid-twentieth century, some degree of this burgeoning modernization can be seen and overlaid upon the current Court Square.
WORKS CITED
Accles, Amy. Court Square, Harrisonburg, Virginia : Background Paper. Part of an Oral History Project, 1990.
“Court Square.” ROOTS RUN DEEP. Accessed October 31, 2023. https://rootsrundeep.org/court- square.html#:~:text=For%20African%20Americans%20in%20Rockingham,to%20reside%20in%20the%20state.
“Grantor 1778-1864 (AKA Burnt Books).” GRANTOR 1778-1864 (AKA Burnt Books) | Rockingham County, VA. Accessed October 31, 2023. https://www.rockinghamcountyva.gov/785/1778-1864-aka-Burnt-Books.
“Historical Courthouse Information.” Historical Courthouse Information | Rockingham County, VA. Accessed October 31, 2023. https://www.rockinghamcountyva.gov/351/Historical-Courthouse-Information.
https://digitalsanbornmaps.proquest.com/browse_maps/46/8939/43835/45915/619519?accountid=11667
Lyon, Cheryl, and Scott Hamilton Suter. Harrisonburg. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2003.
MacAllister, Dale. “Harrisonburg’s Courthouse Square – Rockingham County, Virginia.” Courthouse Square in Early Harrisonburg and Activities Connected with Court Days, 2005. https://www.rockinghamcountyva.gov/DocumentCenter/View/179/Courthouse-Square-in-Early-Harrisonburg–Activities-Connected-with-Court-Days?bidId=.
“Rockingham County Courthouse & Springhouse on Court Square – Visit Harrisonburg Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley.” Visit Harrisonburg Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley – The Official Tourism Website of Harrisonburg, September 24, 2020. https://www.visitharrisonburgva.com/places/rockingham-county-courthouse-springhouse-on-court-square/.
Wayland, John Walter. Historic Harrisonburg. C.J. Carrier Co., 1990.