"While this book is a stand-alone project, it also serves as the accompanying catalogue for the large-scale exhibition on view at JMU's Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art during the fall of 2017." -- from page 12

First settled in 1737 by members of the Thomas Harrison family, the town of Harrisonburg was recognized by the Virginia House of Delegates in 1780 as the seat of the newly-formed Rockingham County. Always looking forward, the town fathers proclaimed a grand industrial future for the town by the 1890s, and Harrisonburg was incorporated as an independent city in 1916. By the mid-20th century, planned growth, urban renewal, and nearby Interstate 81 had transformed the small town into a metropolis. The remarkable photographs reproduced in Harrisonburg offer glimpses of Harrisonburg's growth from a crossroads trade center to the host of an interstate clover leaf.

In 1850 and again in 1860, the U.S. government carried out a census of slave owners and their property. Jack F. Cox's transcription of the 1850 slave owners' census is arranged in alphabetical order according to the surname of the slave owner and gives his/her full name, number of slaves owned, and the county of residence. It may be just possible that more persons with slave ancestors will be able to trace them via other records (property records, for example) pertaining to the 37,000 slave owners enumerated in this new volume.