Salem Museum in Salem, Virginia

Preserving 300+ years of history, art, and sports in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains

1619 to Water Street: A Weekend of Black History at the Salem Museum

Saturday August 22, 10am-4pm

Discover the story of slavery in the Roanoke Valley and explore the history of local African American communities post-Civil War as the Museum premieres two new exhibits. Then hear lectures on Black history in Salem and across Appalachia. All exhibits and events are free to the public.

“Slavery in Salem and the Roanoke Valley” examines the role slavery played in the surrounding community, from its introduction during the Colonial era through Emancipation in 1865. Using dozens of local primary sources and secondary research, this exhibit constructs an image of what the practice of enslavement would have looked like in the Valley. Visitors to this exhibit can also preview Salem’s newest Civil War Trails marker, “We Will Prove Ourselves Men: The U.S. Colored Troops of East Hill North” remembering the local enslaved of Salem who fought for their freedom with the Union Army, before it premieres officially in November.

“Into the Sunlight of Freedom: Water Street and the Black Communities of Salem” will uncover the many challenges and triumphs of Salem’s Black communities in the century following Emancipation. Read about the numerous businesses, houses of worship, schools, and organizations that spearheaded a thriving African American community in Salem.

Also on display will be the 23/54 Community Quilt, a large quilt symbolically honoring the 23 Pulaski County parents who in 1947 joined Dr. Percy Corbin in a lawsuit against the Pulaski County School Board for better educational facilities on behalf of 54 Black children. Each square represents one of the families involved in the case. Descendants selected artifacts that told their family’s story, weaving them into the design of their quilt squares as a visual and material archive of their legacy.

“Water Street Weekend” is sponsored by the Robertson Endowment for Exhibits and Events.

Remembering Water Street

Saturday August 22, 11:00am

This talk is part of “1619 to Water Street: A Weekend of Black History at the Salem Museum” on Saturday, August 22.

At 11 a.m. educator and local historian Dr. Marylen Harmon will discuss the history of Water Street, Salem’s first major post-Emancipation Black community, in her talk “Remembering Water Street.” Renamed South Broad Street in 1973, the Water Street neighborhood was the center of a vibrant community during the twentieth century. Dr. Harmon will identify how Water Street’s residents defied the limitations set upon them during the days of segregation, and how major institutional strengths in places like the Carver School set the stage for a better future.

Dr. Harmon is a retired educator of more than thirty years. A member of the Carver School’s graduating class of 1966, she is a longtime community historian and activist. Her parents, Chauncey D. Harmon, Sr. and Lucy Harmon, were taught at the Tuskegee Institute by George Washington Carver himself, and later became educators at the Salem area school still bearing his name.

Slavery in Appalachia Virginia

Saturday August 22, 2pm

At 2 p.m. educator Dr. Michael “Mickey” Hickman will inspect the role of slavery in shaping the South, and specifically Appalachia, with his talk “Slavery in Appalachia Virginia.” Drawing on extensive research, Dr. Hickman will present a thorough examination of the South’s “peculiar institution” as it existed far westward from the slavery usually studied in Virginia’s Tidewater region.

Dr. Hickman is a retired educator for Pulaski County Public Schools, where he served as a classroom teacher, an athletic coach, and an administrator for a total of 42 years. He also worked as a national consultant presenting instructional strategies to teachers in 42 different states. Currently, Mickey sits as the board president for the Calfee Community and Cultural Center 501c3 project. He also sits on the Board of Directors for the New River Carilion Hospital in Radford, Virginia, and was recently appointed to the Governor’s African American Advisory Board.

More Events Here!

Andrew Lewis: Salem's Revolutionary Champion

On Display in the Feature Gallery

Visit us this summer to see the official City of Salem VA250 exhibit about Andrew Lewis, William Fleming, and our local ties to the American Revolution!

This exhibit chronicles the local figures' lives and Lewis' lynchpin status in the course of the American Revolution. Visitors can try on garments, handle tools, and interact with materials resembling those of Revolutionary era Virginia.

On The Map: History of Virginia Along Bikecentennial Route 76 Explored Through Maps

On Display Now on the Ground Floor

History happens everywhere. This poster exhibit connects lesser-known
local history to historic maps of the state of Virginia. The unifying theme
of the selected local history is transportation as all stories take place on
or near Bicycle Route 76. Created 1976 to celebrate the Bicentennial of
the United States, Route 76 spans the continental United States –
guiding cyclists from Yorktown, Virginia to Astoria, Oregon. This exhibit
focuses on the route in Virginia. It is highlighted in red with the location
of where the story happened being marked by a bicycle on all maps.

This exhibit is affiliated with the larger Bike76 VA Project. To learn more, visit
https://bike76-va.vt.domains/home/

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HOURS OF OPERATION

Open Tuesdays — Saturdays, 10 am to 4 pm.

Closed on July 4; Thanksgiving; Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas; New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and the day after New Years.

If the City of Salem Schools are closed for inclement weather, the Museum does not open.

LOCATION & DIRECTIONS

Located next to Longwood Park in Downtown Salem
801 East Main Street
Salem, Virginia 24153

From I-81, take exit 140 and head toward Salem on Thompson Memorial Blvd. At Main Street (US 460), turn left. Go .3 mile; the Salem Museum is located at the top of the hill on the left. Our entrance is across from the Berglund Ford service entrance. Look for the “OAKEY FIELD” sign. There is plenty of free, on-site parking.

ADMISSION IS FREE.
DONATIONS ARE
APPRECIATED!

Admission is FREE for all self-guided visitors.

Guided tours are $10 per adult age 15+, and $5 for children. For school groups and educational groups, students are $3 and chaperones are free. Group visits are available when booked at least two weeks in advance.