Events and Activities
Andrew Lewis Weekend
Saturday & Sunday, June 7 & 8 from 10am to 4pm
Join us to celebrate 250 years since Andrew Lewis expelled Lord Dunmore from Williamsburg.
The Fincastle Company Living Historians will be on site all weekend. Meet Andrew Lewis and learn about his life.
See the new VA250 exhibit "Salem's Forgotten Hero: Andrew Lewis and the Revolutionary War"
June 7:
11am- "Pioneer and Patriot: The Life of Andrew Lewis" lecture with Museum Director Garrett Channell
2pm- "Dunmore: Colonial Unrest, Slavery, & Expulsion in Revolutionary Virginia" lecture by Dr. Nicole Dressler, associate teaching professor of history at the University of William and Mary
June 8:
1pm- "Pioneer and Patriot: The Life of Andrew Lewis" lecture with Museum Director Garrett Channell
3pm- Commemoration of the expulsion of Dunmore from Williamsburg
Thanks to our Museum Sponsors: The Lofts at Downtown Salem, Town and Country Renovations
Event Sponsored by Virginia is for Lovers (virginia.org) and VA250 (Va250.org)
Dunmore: Colonial Unrest, Slavery, & Expulsion in Revolutionary Virginia
Lecture by Dr. Nicole Dressler, associate teaching professor of history at the University of William and Mary
June 7 at 2pm
Lord Dunmore was the last royal governor of Virginia, and his story of intensifying the friction between the colonists and Great Britain is not a simple one. In 1775, Dunmore fatefully removed gunpowder from the Williamsburg magazine, which sparked public outcry and later, powerfully incited revolutionary fervor. His actions, combined with the growing patriot movement as well as the fear of slave rebelliousness, engendered a series of events that would lead to Virginia’s participation in an armed conflict and support for independence from Britain.
Dr. Nicole Dressler is a historian of early America and the Atlantic world and an Associate Teaching Professor of History at William & Mary. She specializes in unfree labor, the development of abolition, and humanitarianism. She has published in Early American Studies and is currently working on a book manuscript that explores convict servitude, antislavery, and prison reform during the long eighteenth century. Her research has been supported by the Library Company of Philadelphia, the American Philosophical Society, the Global Humanitarianism Research Academy, and the McNeil Center for Early American Studies.
Pioneer and Patriot: The Life of Andrew Lewis
Talk by Museum Director Garrett Channell
June 7 at 11am (in uniform as Lewis), June 8 at 1pm
Long before Salem, the Roanoke Valley was sparsely populated by famers and pioneers. One large estate, named Richfield, was owned by Andrew Lewis and occupied the land that would become Salem. This plot of land was only one part of Lewis’s heroic story.
Join the Salem Museum on June 7 and 8 to learn the story of Andrew Lewis, Salem’s own patriot leader. Learn how he established his estate, which once stretched all the way to Kentucky; what role he played in the French and Indian War; and how his actions during the Revolutionary War helped secure the colonies’ independence. You will also hear how Lewis twice won Virginia’s freedom, and which Founding Father he was surprisingly close to.
Whispered Echoes: Tales Across Time
Salem Museum Speaker Series, June 12 at 7pm
Let Me Tell Ya!, the acclaimed storytelling collective, proudly returns to the Salem Museum with "Whispered Echoes: Tales Across Time." This speaker series event is free to the public.
Join storytellers Clinton Atwater, Teresa Calhoun, and Mark Fryburg as they regale attendees with original stories that stress human connection in the increasingly digitized world. Armed with humor, wisdom, adventure, and awe, their stories will honor the oral storytelling tradition that entertained countless generations of ancestors. Reviving the ancient powers of voice, gesture, and imagination will be the spotlight focus of the evening.
Hands-On History
Join us each week for Hands-on History Saturdays! On Saturdays from 10-4, visitors will get the chance to pull on curators’ gloves and hold a piece of history in their hands. Come see, up close, artifacts that are not often on display. A new theme every month! May= Revolutionary War
Mark Your Calendar
Monthly Speaker Series
Second Thursday of each month. June= Let Me Tell Ya! Storytellers / July= Todd Marcum on baseball history / August= Dr. Forest Jones book talk "Good Trouble" / September= Kay McCarron on Graham-White Site archeology / October= Heath Lee on the life of Pat Nixon (at Roanoke College) / November= Flood of 1985 panel
Andrew Lewis Weekend
June 7 & 8. Join us to celebrate 250 years since Lewis expelled Lord Dunmore from Williamsburg. Meet living historians and see the unveiling of the Museum's new VA250 exhibit.
Persiflage Book Sale
June 28, 11am-1:30pm. The regional writers’ group—Persiflage Writers—will hold its second mass book sale of its authors’ works. The sale will feature nationally and regionally important authors, as well as some new and promising writers.
Ask an Archeologist
This Summer. As the Museum prepares for its fall exhibit on the Totera Town site, archeologists will be on site to work on the artifacts. Ask them questions about their work and see how they perform their craft.
Summer Fun For All Ages
This Summer. You asked and we listened! This year's summer fun programs are open to all families and ages, adults and kids alike.
Blue Ridge Potters Guild Clay College
August 2. Join us to learn more about how to make pottery and ceramic art.
Lord Dunmore Day
September 6, 10am-4pm. Hear the other perspective of history. Meeting living historians and learn about the British perspectives during the Revolutionary War.
Ghost Walk 2025
October 2-4, 6pm-8pm. Our annual Ghost Walk returns to East Hill Cemetery.
Gingerbread Festival 2025
December 6. 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 13. 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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