Events
Upcoming Events
Resilience Amid Resistance
Historic Marker Dedication & Exhibition Opening Saturday, May 17, 2025, 10-11:30 am You are invited to the dedication of a new state historical marker commemorating the first cases to implement…
Spy Pilot
Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 Incident, and a Controversial Cold War Legacy RESCHEDULED: May 15, 2025 With Francis Gary Powers, Jr. Francis Gary Powers, Jr., debunks the fake news that…
History Book Club
Let’s gather to explore America’s history together. In 2024, Rocktown History and the Massanutton Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution invited the community to join a new history…
Rocktown History Coffee Mill
The Rocktown History Coffee Mills are brewing up stories from the past! This series of informal gatherings offers you a unique museum experience with Rocktown History’s own curator, researcher, historians,…
Other events are sprinkled throughout the year.
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Past Events
All in Good Time
Genealogy Research & Storytelling Friday, May 2, 2025, 10:30 am With David L. Good Discover how journalism and genealogy come together in “All in Good Time,” a special presentation by…
Great Community Give 2025
Wednesday, April 16th, 6:00 am – 8:00 pm Preserving the Past, Inspiring the Future For over 125 years, our mission has always been clear: to preserve, share, and bring to…
Follow the Money
How primary sources revealed the story of John Isaac Myers Saturday, March 29, 10:30 am With Peggy Ann Shifflett Join Peggy Ann Shifflett, acclaimed author and researcher, for a fun…
The Stories Behind Rattlesnake Granny
People, Places, Pots, and Pans Thursday, April 3, 7 pm With Stephanie Gardner In 2024, Stephanie Gardner introduced us to the world of Rattlesnake Granny: the mountainside of the Virginia…
Strong in Wretchedness and Woe
The Untold Story of Rockingham County in the Spanish-American War March 20, 2025, 7 pm With E.K. Knappenberger As a historian and analyst, Knappenberger seeks out the forgotten and overlooked….
America’s Deadly Legacy
Landmines in the Civil War April 17, 2025, 7pm With Ken Rutherford Landmines in the Civil War. Despite all that has been published on the American Civil War, one aspect…
Grocery Boy: Vignettes and Adventure Stories
Author talk, music, and book signing Thursday, December 5, 2024, 7pm With Bobby Driver In case you missed it . . . Bobby Driver brought the house down with his…
The Life of a Printer’s Devil
The Stories of Emory H. Shoemaker Thursday, November 21, 2024, 7pm | In-Person & Zoom Webinar With William L. (Bill) Zirk, Sr. Bill Zirk has recently transcribed, compiled, and published…
Pairings with a Purpose! Sold Out!
Wine and Chocolate with Notes of History A Rocktown History Fundraiser, Thursday, November 14, 2024, 7 pm, at Hotel Madison in Harrisonburg $75 Rocktown History members, $80 non-members. Other discounted…
Rattlesnake Granny
with Stephanie Gardner Book Talk, Saturday, Aug 3, 2024, 10:30 am Rattlesnake Granny: Nancy Remembers Life in Old Thornton Gap, Inspired by True Stories, by Stephanie S. Gardner Love the…
Golden Anniversary for the Great Mountain Yonder: Massanutten Village at 50
with June Brinkman and MPOA Administrator Bradford Dyjak Third Thursday Talk, July 18, 2024, 7:00 pm, in the Lecture Hall and via Zoom. A famous American poet, a post-Civil War…
David Driver Book Signing
David Driver Book Signing Saturday, July 20, 2024 10 am – 12 pm Rocktown History Harrisonburg native David Driver, a graduate of Turner Ashby High, signed copies of his book…
Arguments for Putting to Rest the Mathias Myth
with Franklin Heatwole Rocktown History Coffee Mill 382 High St., Dayton, VA 22821 Tuesday, June 25, 2024 Coffee & gathering at 9:30 am followed by talk at 10:00 am Franklin…
Celebrating 100 Years of the Rockingham County Baseball League
Play ball! Special event to open the new baseball exhibit and celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Rockingham County Baseball League Thursday, April 18, 2024, 6 pm | Rocktown History…
September Mourn
The Dunker Church of Antietam Battlefield Thursday, May 16, 2024, 7 pm | In-Person & Zoom Webinar Webinar registration required With author Terry Barkley The Dunker Church is one of…
“Apple brandy seemed to flow from every rock.”
John T. Harris’ Independent Campaign for Congress, 1859 Thursday, June 20, 2024, 7 pm | In-Person & Zoom Webinar Webinar registration required With Dale Harter When John T. Harris decided…
Acadian Exiles
in Pre-Revolutionary War Colonial Maryland Saturday, March 16, 2024, 10:30 am | In-Person at Rocktown History With author and genealogy researcher Marie Rundquist During her fast-paced, multimedia presentation, Marie Rundquist…
Shenandoah Valley White Oak Basket Making
Documenting Tradition Thursday, March 21, 2024, 7pm | In-Person & Zoom Webinar With curator Scott Suter Drawing on his fieldwork in the early 1990s, Dr. Scott Suter introduces the craftspeople…
Mountain Women Live
On Life and Legacy of Appalachian Women Thursday, February 15, 2024, 7 pm | In-Person & Webinar With author Dr. Peggy Ann Shifflett Dr. Peggy Ann Shifflett will discuss her…
Marching to War and Waltzing to Peace
Life and Legacy of Appalachian Women Thursday, January 18, 2024, 7 pm With historian E. K. Knappenberger Come celebrate the musical heritage of the Valley of Virginia! Join the Mountain…
The Inaugural Reception
The inaugural reception of The 1898 Society—Rocktown History’s planned giving recognition program—will be held Thursday, September 28th at 6pm in the museum. Entertainment and heavy hors d’oeuvres provided. Those interested in…
Free Black Landmarks of Early Western Virginia
How Edward Tarr’s Story Reveals Race Relations & More on the American Frontier Thursday, September 21, 2023, 7 pm | In-Person & Zoom Webinar With author Turk McClesky In 1752,…
Writing Peggy’s War: Fact, Fiction, and 500 Footnotes*
Book launch Thursday, August 10, 2023, 7 pm | In-Person & Zoom Webinar With author Karl Rhodes Note: This is a Second Thursday Talk in deference to the Rockingham County…
Peggy’s War
Book Launch Saturday, July 22nd, 2023 10:30 – noon | Rocktown History With author Karl Rhodes Who in their right mind writes a novel with more than 500 endnotes handcuffing…
Knocking Down Walls Documentary
On May 25, 2023, at Harrisonburg’s Court Square Theater, Rocktown History premiered Knocking Down Walls, a documentary film about Harrisonburg’s role in the integration of Virginia schools—a story of high…
At Home with the Virginia Presidents
Life and Legacy of Appalachian Women Thursday, April 20, 2024, 7 pm | Zoom Webinar With author Heather Cole Heather Cole will lead an engaging armchair travel and history talk…
The Remarkable Blue Ridge Tunnel
Thursday, March 16, 2023, 7 pm | Rocktown History With author Mary E. Lyons In one of the greatest engineering feats of the time, Claudius Crozet led the completion of…
Selections from the Collection of Rocktown History
Curator’s Choice Thursday, February 16, 2023, 7 pm | Zoom Webinar With curator Diane Ehrenpreis Diane Ehrenpreis, Associate Curator of Decorative Arts at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello,showcased diverse objects from the…
What Can Conservation Do for You: Preservation in your Home Town
Life and Legacy of Appalachian Women Thursday, January 19, 2023, 7 pm | Zoom Webinar With archaeological conservator Kate Ridgway and guest host Randy Jones Kate Ridgway will discuss her…
Old South High: Historical Investigations of Harrisonburg Landmarks
November 17, 2022, 7p | In-person and Zoom Webinar With E. K. Knappenberger, Local Historian This new and deeply local history talk will focus on the historic Old South High…
Everything But the Bedroom Quilt
October 20, 2022, 7p | In-person and Zoom Webinar With Nick Powers, Curator of Collections, Museum of Shenandoah Valley While the Shenandoah Valley is known for its strong quilting tradition,…
The Silver Lake & Mill: 200 Years of Stories with Cheryl Lyon and Deb Thompson
The Silver Lake & Mill: 200 Years of Stories with Cheryl Lyon and Deb Thompson A presentation to celebrate the bicentennial year of Silver Lake and the Mill in Dayton,…
A History of Rawley Springs Resorts & Hotels
June 16, 2022, 7pm Presenter Bev Appleton’s program was filled with images, history notes, and anecdotal remembrances, covering about 100 years from the antebellum period to post-WWII. View the program…
Sadie at Eighty: Conversation & Book Signing
Saturday, November 20, 2021, 10a; limited seating, registration required, suggested donation $10 In “Sadie’s Silence,” author Libby Layne introduced readers to her grandmother Sadie Zigler Wampler, whose short life exemplified…
Old House, New History: Where do we go from here?
Thursday, November 4, 2021, Hybrid Event In recent years, evidence from archaeological investigation changed the story of what has been known for decades as the Thomas Harrison House. How do…
Libby Film Special Event
Sun, Oct 24, 3p; limited seating, registration required, suggested donation $10. Save Your Seat! Find us next to Ten Thousand Villages for a dose of holiday spirit with this heartwarming…
“Little Massachusetts”: Northern Valley Unionists
Thursday, June 17, 2021, 7pm Zoom Webinar While Unionist sentiment remained strong throughout the Shenandoah Valley as Virginia debated secession in late 1860 and early 1861, those pro-Unionist leanings waned…
Shenandoah Valley Architecture
Thursday, May 20, 2021, 7pm Zoom Webinar From log cabins to drive-ins, the story of America is reflected in the architectural heritage of the Shenandoah Valley. In the 1700s, emigrants…
Archer Alexander and The Faces of Freedom
Thursday, April 15, 2021, 7pm Zoom Webinar You won’t find the name of Archer Alexander (born in 1806 in Rockbridge County, Virginia) on the 1876 Emancipation Memorial in Lincoln Park,…
Lucy Frances Simms Celebration
Tuesday, October 27, 2020, 7-8:30 pm, Zoom Webinar The Northeast Neighborhood Association and Rocktown History hosted a celebration of the legacy of Miss Lucy F. Simms and the release of…