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A bird's-eye map of the Battle of Hanging Rock, June 21, 1864, as interpreted by artist Ellen Morris.
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Twenty Decades: A History of Salem through 200+ Years
Did you know that Salem was the home of Revolutionary War hero Andrew Lewis? That silent film star Charlie Hammitt and Hollywood heartthrob John Payne were from Salem? That in the Civil War the town was raided by Union soldiers?
The story of Salem’s past is the story of all of us —an American hometown carved from the wilderness when the nation was new, growing through the years but retaining her own unique charm. Come trace her history from the days of Totera Indians to modern times in our exhibit “Twenty Decades.”
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Community and Courage: The African- American Experience in Salem
In 1868, freed slaves in Salem purchased land from the estate of their former master. Those purchases became the genesis of the Water Street Community—Salem’s premiere African-American neighborhood. Here homes, churches, businesses, schools and social organizations flourished in the face of segregation. Through generations of slavery, injustice, and finally Civil Rights victories, the citizens of Water Street persevered and built a sense of community that has endured. |
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The Brown House Parlor
A late Victorian parlor furnished with antiques original to the house during the Brown family's residence.
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Lakeside! Sixty Summers of Ups and Downs
In the hot summer of 1920, a mammoth swimming pool named Lakeside opened just east of Salem. Soon the resort added a Thriller (roller coaster), Twirl-Around (Ferris wheel), and other rides until Lakeside became the destination for summer fun in western Virginia. From 1968 until the park’s demise in the mid-80s, the centerpiece of Lakeside was the Shooting Star, a wooden roller coaster that at the time was the fastest in the world. Photographs, souvenirs, a scale model of the Shooting Star, and a million fond memories tell the exhilarating history of Lakeside’s sixty summers.
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