Salem History | Salem Museum

(540) 389-6760

Salem Museum in Salem, Virginia

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

Closed March 14 and 17

The Salem Museum will be closed Saturday March 14 and Tuesday March 17 for staff professional development.

We look forward to sharing our new ideas and experiences with you after our return.

Matilda Wentzel Talk February '26 Square Flyer

Healing via Artistic Flow

Thursday March 12, 7pm

Zoom Link HERE

Explore the ways art can help individuals emotionally heal with “Healing via Artistic Flow,” at the Salem Museum on Thursday, March 12, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. This speaker series lecture is free and open to the public.

In her talk, artist Matilda Wentzel will discuss the various ways art has helped people recover from emotional wounds and enhance their self-expression skills. Using examples from her own life, Wentzel will demonstrate the many ways tapping into one’s “Creative Flow Zone” and cherishing the lightheartedness of life’s lessons can make hardships more bearable.

Wentzel is a local artist who began painting as a young girl growing up in the forests of Appalachia. She has continued to find inspiration for her work through travel across the United States and abroad. She takes pride in having her work challenge a viewer to think and interpret from a soulful place of contemplation

Charles Gwaltney Book Signing and Reflection

Saturday, March 28 at 11:00am

Join us to hear Charles Gwaltney reflect on his life and memories, including those of his late brother Russ Gwaltney, who won the 1952 National Marbles Championship. Copies of Gwaltney’s latest book, Spanning the Years: A Collection of Poems, will be available for purchase and signing, with part of the proceeds going to the Salem Museum.

More Events Here!

Exhibit poster for Roanoke Valley history.

The First People of the Roanoke Valley

On Display in the Feature Gallery through mid-March 2026

In 1671, European explorers Thomas Batts and Robert Fallam encountered Totero Town, a village believed to have been located in present-day Salem and inhabited by Eastern Siouan-speaking members of the Tutelo tribe. Centuries later, the remains of this village were uncovered during archaeological excavations conducted during the construction of the James I. Moyer Sports Complex on the same site.

Visitors will look back into the time of the Tutelo and learn about the thriving world of the early Roanoke Valley. Drawing on archaeological artifacts, maps, and interpretive displays, the exhibits reveal how the Tutelo and other Eastern Siouan peoples shaped the land long before European settlement. Examine tools used in hunting, view pottery once storing a winter’s meal, and discover the many uses of animal hides and bones!

The Eastern Siouan of the Roanoke Valley

On Display on the Ground Floor through Spring 2026

Explore stories of Indigenous resistance and persistence in a dynamic new timeline display. Over the last 400 years, the Tutelo and Monacan Alliance have met challenges and created victories for themselves as they adapted to the changing world around them. Featuring illustrations and photographs of significant moments in Tutelo and Monacan history, this display reveals how their communities endured and evolved through centuries of transformation.

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Kids Collage and Mixed Media Art Class

March 24, 4pm

Piece together and make texture for some fun creativity that leaves your kido with some high quality art worth framing!

Open to kids 7+ , space for 10 students

RSVP in advance required.

For more information and tickets click HERE

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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.