Campus Tour
Locations
Alumnae Hall – Donald L. Banks
Alumnae Hall, which sits on the main quad of James Madison University, was built in 1922. While the building has had a variety of uses since its construction, during the time that Donald L. Banks worked at Madison College, the building housed the Counseling Center....
Gabbin Hall- Mr. Robert “Walker” Lee
The Jim Crow era in the United States lasted close to 100 years. A series of racial segregation laws were instated in the late 19th century, and African Americans found themselves denied basic rights such as voting, holding certain jobs, riding public...
Godwin Hall – Larry Rogers
Larry Rogers: Team Player In 1977, the same year that Madison College became James Madison University, Larry Rogers came to the school as a student athlete for the football team and played on the field that is now Bridgeforth Stadium, next to Godwin Hall. Having...
Harrison Hall-Page Mitchell
Before James Madison University there was the State Normal and Industrial School for Women. One of the first employees hired for the newly founded school was Page Mitchell. Mitchell worked as a cook at the Normal from 1909 to 1918 and became a pivotal figure at...
Hartman Hall – Dr. Alexander L. Gabbin
Hartman Hall is a newer building for James Madison University, which was celebrated with a grand opening in 2021. It is occupied by the College of Business and named for the family of James and Carolyn Hartman. The Accounting Department inside this building,...
Hillcrest House – Doris Harper Allen
Born in Harrisonburg on September 28, 1927, Doris Harper Allen lived in the city for most of her life. Her memoir, The Way It Was Not The Way It Is provides a great deal of insight into the culture, society, and significant changes that surrounded and affected the...
Keezell Hall – Dr. Joanne V. Gabbin
Keezell Hall is named for Virginia State Sen. George B. Keezell, who played a key part in the State Normal and Industrial School for Women being located in Harrisonburg, Va. Keezell Hall was built in 1927 and originally named Reed Hall, honoring Dr. Walter Reed....
Memorial Hall (Harrisonburg High School) – Sheary Darcus Johnson
During segregation, African American students were not provided the same resources as white students. “Separate but equal” was not equal, in that African American schools were provided limited, used, and outdated resources for education. Additionally, teachers of...
Sheldon Hall – Dr. Lillian Pegues Jennings
Sheldon Hall - Dr. Lillian Pegues Jennings Sheldon Hall, named after Edward A. Sheldon, was originally built in 1923 as a dormitory for students attending Harrisonburg State Teacher's College (now JMU) and is currently used for offices. Dr. Lillian Pegues Jennings...
Student Success Center (Rockingham Memorial Hospital) – Dr. Eugene Dickerson
Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1877 or 1879, Eugene Dickerson was the son of Wilson Dickerson and Fannie Reeves. In the 1880 Federal Census, his father is listed as a day laborer and his mother as a housekeeper. After attending the local...
Wilson Hall-The Black Student Alliance
In the late 1960s, Madison College experienced two dramatic changes: it finally began to admit Black students and to allow men students to live on campus. This decade, the 1960s, is remembered by Americans as a time of grassroots protest movements led largely by...