Exhibits
Connect to the past
The large gallery spaces invite you to explore Harrisonburg and Rockingham’s history. Imagine using a flint to start a fire or a froe to split wood. Enjoy the creativity of early artisans. Discover the hardships and joy that accompanied the growth of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham community.
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Implementing Imagination
Featured Exhibition, Oct 24, 2025—Jan 31, 2026 Discover creativity in every tool! Implements are expressions of imaginative problem-solving. In this exhibition, artists share their own creative expression—inspired by common tools. Linger in the gallery to explore how artists Michael Hough…
Previous exhibition highlights
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Resilience Amid Resistance
History Made by Students—History Told by Students May 17, 2025 – September 20, 2025 Now in its tenth year, the Farmville Tour Guides Project, a student-led independent study in Rockingham County high schools, has long served…
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The Art of Community
On view Feb 15 – Apr 12, 2025 Art — like beauty, is often said to be in the eye of the beholder and thus, indefinable. We invite you to think of art as an expression…
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The Only Recreation We Had (Virtual)
Exhibit season opening day: April 19, 2024. Final out: November 5, 2024, but a new virtual tour provides an instant replay! In 2024, the Rockingham County Baseball League celebrated 100 years! In the 1920s, baseball wasn’t just…
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A Tip of the Hat: Rocktown History Celebrates 125 years!
On view October 2023 – February 2024 Rocktown History is celebrating 125 years with a new exhibition! Come and explore how the organization has collected, maintained, and recorded the history of Rockingham County and Harrisonburg since…
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Coverlets
By popular demand, the coverlet exhibit will return for the month of March. A plan to review and assess the Rocktown History coverlets created an opportunity to share the entire colorful collection with visitors. Come see…
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Melodious Marketing
Shape-notes as tools for music and business. Using unique marketing strategies, one local family business spread shape-note singing traditions from the Shenandoah Valley throughout North America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and influenced…
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The Strickler Collection: To Preserve a Community, curated by Jeffrey S. Evans: November 14, 2019, extended to July 2021
Robert Hopkins “Twig” and Lorraine Warren Strickler represent philanthropy in the truest sense of the word. Their generous support of the local community has been well documented. Less well-known is how diligently they worked to save…
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Allen Litten, The Valley’s Observer: April 2019 – September 2019
Allen Litten has been photographing the events of Harrisonburg and the surrounding area for over 60 years, spending much of that time with the Daily News-Record newspaper. Guest Curator Daniel Robinson, Institute of Visual Studies, James…
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Inventors & Innovators of Harrisonburg and Rockingham: November 28, 2018 – March 30, 2019
During the 19th and 20th centuries, residents of Rockingham County earned 380 patents from the United States Patent office. Their inventions were surprisingly diverse—from butter churns and poultry brooders to a “mechanical nurse” and a solar…
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At Play: Dolls, Toys, and Trains: November 25, 2016 – January 31, 2017
An exhibition that recalled the joys of childhood playtime, but revealed many themes of history (manufacturing, materials, education, immigration, business, gender bias, and concern for the environment) through a display of model cars, tin toys, G.I….
