02/09/2026
Marguerite B. Harris (1898-1995) was the first African-American nurse for the Rockland County Health Department. In 1920, she arrived in New York to attend the Lincoln Hospital School for Nurses in the Bronx. At the time it was the only school in the country to accept black women into its nursing program. Following her graduation as a registered nurse in 1925, she went on to study public health at Columbia University. Marguerite B. Harris then became the first African-American to receive a federal scholarship to Seton Hall University, where she earned her baccalaureate degree in nursing. In 1953 she moved to Rockland County when she joined the Rockland County Public Health Nursing Service, living in Nyack and then Nanuet. Marguerite B. Harris served the children of Shanks Village as one of her earliest assignments in the county. After her retirement in 1971, Harris became the director of the Family Center in Haverstraw in 1973, using her own money to support the center’s operations when grant funding depleted. Harris was the founder of the Pioneer Club for public health nurses in the county. She was involved in numerous community organizations throughout her life in Rockland, including St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, the Girl Scouts, and the Bicentennial Quilt. She was recognized for her service with many honors, including the Mary Mahoney award and a Distinguished Service Award of the County of Rockland. In 1982, Harris received an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Dominican College in Blauvelt, after more than a decade of teaching for the school’s nursing program. Throughout the duration of her career in public health, Marguerite B. Harris was a dedicated champion for the wellbeing of Rockland’s residents.
Photograph and information from "Marguerite B. Harris Papers and Memorabilia, 1932-1992 (MC10), Bellevue Alumnae Center for Nursing History, Foundation of New York State Nurses, Guilderland, NY".
