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.
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 school students as told by high school students. A Spotswood…
Previous exhibition highlights
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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….