Events
Upcoming Events
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…
Rocktown History Coffee Mill
Sept 14, Sept 28, Oct 12, Oct 26, Nov 9, Nov 30 (4th Thurs is Thanksgiving), Dec 14, Dec 28 (tbd) Savor richly brewed coffee from local coffee roaster Coffee…
Other events are sprinkled throughout the year.
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Past Events
Free Black Landmarks of Early Western Virginia: How Edward Tarr’s Story reveals Race Relations & More on the American Frontier
Thursday, September 21, 2023, 7p | In-Person & Zoom Webinar | Zoom Registration Required With author Turk McClesky In 1752, an enslaved Pennsylvania ironworker named Ned purchased his freedom and…
Book launch: Writing Peggy’s War: Fact, Fiction, and 500 Footnotes*
Thursday, August 10, 2023, 7p | In-Person & Zoom Webinar | Registration Required With author Karl Rhodes Note: This is a Second Thursday Talk in deference to the Rockingham County…
Local History Book Launch – Peggy’s War, by Karl Rhodes
Saturday, July 22nd, 10:30 – noon | Rocktown History Who in their right mind writes a novel with more than 500 endnotes handcuffing himself to the truth? Veteran journalist Karl…
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
Thursday, April 20, 2023, 7 pm | Zoom Webinar With author Heather Cole Heather Cole will lead an engaging armchair travel and history talk about the eight Virginia-born presidents and…
The Remarkable Blue Ridge Tunnel
Thursday, March 16, 2023, 7 pm, at Rocktown History With author Mary E. Lyons This will be an in-person presentation. Seating is limited, so registration is required. At the speaker’s…
Curator’s Choice: Selections from the Collection of Rocktown History
February 16, 2023, 7p | Zoom Webinar With Diane Ehrenpreis, Associate Curator of Decorative Arts, Thomas Jefferson Foundation Join Diane Ehrenpreis, Associate Curator of Decorative Arts at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello,…
What Can Conservation Do for You: Preservation in your Home Town
January 19, 2023, 7p | Zoom Webinar With Kate Ridgway, State Archaeological Conservator, DHR Kate Ridgway will discuss her role as State Archaeological Conservator at the Department of Historic Resources…
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, 7pm Presenter Bev Appleton’s program will be filled with images, history notes, and anecdotal remembrances, covering about 100 years from the antebellum period to post-WWII. Join us on…
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…