Events and Activities
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
Zoom Link HERE
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.
Wildlife and Landscape Management in Precontact Virginia
Archeological Society of Virginia Headwaters Chapter Speaker, September 8 at 7:00pm
Previous research on climate change and sustainability practices in the Virginia piedmont suggests that Native American people throughout the Roanoke River drainage participated in variable sustainability practices related to the hunting of white-tailed deer and the success of maize. These strategies were heavily influenced by the climate history of the region, evidenced through historic drought data. Building on the data from that project, a similar undertaking was conducted on sites in the Potomac River drainage to investigate sustainability and landscape management in another significant river drainage of the state. This presentation will cover the new results and associated interpretation for Potomac River history and relate those to the Roanoke River data. Implications of the data tie deer management, or lack thereof, to the emergence of the precolonial deerskin trade and the wildly different climate of the Potomac River valley.
Recently hired as DHR’s Western Regional Preservation Office’s Archaeologist, John Henshaw is an ABD Doctoral Candidate in Anthropology, College of William and Mary after receiving a BA and MA from the University of Virginia. Of interest in ASV terms, he received the Sandra Speiden Award for studies in Native American culture. John’s recent work has focused on climate and exchange systems on the Potomac River drainages with the interplay of shell beads and deerskins. Using the data generated by the Palmer Drought Index, he has developed a model for the interplay of climate and cultural subsistence systems and is currently expanding that model into Virginia’s southern Piedmont along the Roanoke River.
Mark Your Calendar
Monthly Speaker Series
Second Thursday of each month, 7pm. January and February on Zoom. September= A Hiker's History of the Appalachian Trail with Mills Kelly / November= The Life of Audie Murphey with Panel Discussion / January= Law and Order for Hire in Virginia with author Phillip Gibbs / March= Splintered Shadows: Recovering a French Resistante with Marilyn Moriarty
Headwaters Chapter of the Archeological Society of Virginia Monthly Meetings
Second Tuesday of July, September, and November; 7pm. Free and open to the public. Enjoy monthly speakers on topics of local archeology.
1619 to Water Street
August 22, 10am-4pm. Join us for a statewide commemoration and celebration of Black history. For this event the Salem Museum will have speakers and the opening of two new Black history exhibits.
Ghost Walk 2026
October 1-3. The annual Ghost Walk returns to East Hill Cemetery. Join us for a fun, family friend walk through the Cemetery to meet ghosts from Salem's past. Tickets on sale September 1.
The Cherokee of S.W. Virginia: Then and Now
October 10, 2pm. Come learn about the role the Cherokee play in Virginia's 250 celebrations. See local artifacts used in everyday life from S.W. Virginia thousands of years ago. And learn about the difficulties Virginia's history presents in finding its Cherokee Ancestors, but also how you can honor your family's oral tradition of having Cherokee ancestry.
Audie Murphey Commemorative Hike
October 17, 10am. Join us for a hike to the Audie Murphey memorial.
Pickleball Social
October 17, 4-7pm. Calling all pickleball players! Visit the Salem Museum that evening for refreshments and a chance to meet fellow competitors. Explore the Museum with your friends and meet new team members.
"Discovery Rising: Celebrating Science and Technology at Roanoke College" Book Launch
October 20, 5:30-7pm. From a church parsonage in 1842 to the 2026 opening of the Shaun McConnon Discovery Center, “Discovery Rising” tells the remarkable story of science, technology, and innovation at Roanoke College. Curated by Glatha “Maggie” Madden, a 1969 graduate of Roanoke College, “Discovery Rising” features engaging narratives and more than 200 images and illustrations that guide readers through Roanoke’s evolution alongside the advances of the modern world.
Lithics/Stone Tool Symposium
October 24, 10am-2pm. Join the Headwaters Chapter of the Archeological Society of Virginia for a day of Native American history and tool demonstrations.
Peggy Shifflett Book Talk
Coming Soon. Local author Peggy Shifflett will discuss her upcoming book and have a book signing.
Workshops with artist Matilda Wentzel
Returns in Fall 2026. Join us for arts workshops. RSVP Required. More information HERE
Annual Member Reception
November 12, 5pm; Membership Meeting 6:30pm. All members are welcome to join us for refreshments and socializing prior to our November speaker. At 6:30, hear the annual report and vote on new Board members.
Gingerbread Festival 2026
December 5, 10am-2pm. The Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce Festival returns to Longwood Park with the annual Gingerbread House Competition on display inside the Museum.
Wreaths Across America
December 19, 12pm. Join the Fort Lewis Chapter NSDAR to honor local veterans. A ceremony will take place, then community members are invited to help lay wreaths on graves in East Hill and East Hill North cemeteries.
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Sun - Mon: Closed
Tue - Sat: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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Sun - Mon: Closed
Tue - Sat: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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