Genealogy & Local History

MRL Genealogy & Local History Room

Conrad T. Logan, President of the Rockingham Public Library Board from 1928 to 1948, was instrumental in starting the genealogy and local history collection. Today, the collection contains over 5,000 books, atlases and pamphlets documenting the families and history of Rockingham County and the Shenandoah Valley.  It is an excellent place to begin research into your Valley roots. Click here to view a searchable PDF index of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County materials available in the MRL Genealogy and Local History Room.

In addition to print sources, the library maintains the following records on microfilm:

• Daily News-Record from July 1913
• Rockingham Register and miscellaneous local newspapers from October 1822
• Census record for Rockingham and surrounding counties from 1790

Photographs depicting early days in Harrisonburg are housed in the collection. Early scenes of Harrisonburg, Boys Band, Telephone Company and the Massanutten Regional Library (formerly Rockingham Public Library) are some of the subjects included in our extensive photograph collection. Contact our reference librarians at 540.434.4475 ext. 122 or by using our Contact Form.

MRL Local History Indexes

The Massanutten Regional Library seeks to preserve the past as well as the present. For more information on items located in our local history pamphlet file, map file and photograph collection use the links below to access searchable indexes, or contact our reference librarians at 540.434.4475 ext. 122 or by using our Contact Form.

Click here to view a searchable PDF index of the MRL Vault Pamphlet File.

Click here to view a searchable PDF index of the MRL Map File.

Click here to view a searchable Excel index of the MRL Photograph Collection.

Additional Local History Resources

• Civil War Sesquicentennial Resources
• Rockingham County VAGenWeb
• Virtual Jamestown
• Virginia Department of Historic Resources
• Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission

Local Courthouses

• Augusta County Clerk of the Circuit Court
  P.O. Box 689
  Staunton, VA 24401
  540.885.8931 ext. 264
• Rockingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court
  The Court House
  Harrisonburg, VA 22801
  540.564.3111

Local University Libraries

• Alexander Mack Memorial Library - Bridgewater College
• JMU Libraries - James Madison University
• Houff Library - Blue Ridge Community College
• Menno Simons Historical Library - Eastern Mennonite University

Historical Societies

• Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society Library

Genealogy Websites

• Ancestry.com  (subscription required) 

  Records of early Americans, including marriage records
• Central VA Genealogical Assoc.

  Located in Charlottesville; good Virginia sources
• Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites

  A list of online genealogy sites--nearly 10,000 categorized lists
• Family Search
• Family Tree Maker

  Building, customizing, searching and sharing your family history
• Ellis Island Foundation

  Immigration records
• Genealogy Gateway

  Complete website searches of over 50,000 records
• Genealogy Today

  Free services and information for researchers, with a goal to add 10,000 new names per week
• National Archives - 1940s Census

  The official 1940s census website
• National Genealogical Society

  This organization can get you started in the right direction
• RootsWeb.com

  Information on tracing your family tree, including websites, tools, databases and search engines