Because History Matters

What’s Waiting For You At Rocktown History?

Buy a book, or make a day of it!

Whether you’re just passing through or you’re a regular visitor to our museum and library, a fascinating experience always awaits at Rocktown History. Take some time to enjoy a self-guided tour of the many exhibits, and you will encounter precious objects of days gone by and discover stories of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County that can’t be found elsewhere.

You’ll also want to join us for special events and educational programming like Third Thursday Talks, exhibit openings, and workshops. You’ll learn from insightful and engaging experts on topics related to our rich local history and their relevance to life today.

If your own roots are what you seek, Rocktown History is your research headquarters. We’re home to an extensive genealogy library with access to national ancestry databases. Our knowledgeable staff and volunteers are ready to help you, no matter where your roots were planted.

Plus, you won’t want to pass up the opportunity to dive deeper into the topics that interest you. The bookstore offers unique history titles and research resources to take home.

The treasures of the past are waiting for you at Rocktown History.

Plan your visit today.


Upcoming Events

Getting the Job Done

Peggy's War book cover

The Story of Rockingham Construction Co., Inc., 1937-1987

By Nancy Bondurant Jones | Updates and Appendices by Winston Weaver Jr. and Carl Martin

Previously unpublished and now updated

Silver Lake

Silver Lake book cover

200 Years of a Shenandoah Valley Mill & Community

By Cheryl Lyon | Forewords by Penny Imeson and Sam Funkhouser

Peggy’s War

Great introduction to a little-known chapter in Harrisonburg-Rockingham history

By Karl Rhodes


Research family and local history at Rocktown History

Genealogy

Family and Local History Research

Whether or not you are Harrisonburg-Rockingham rooted, experienced staff and volunteers are waiting to help you with your family tree or your topic of historical interest.

ORDER RESEARCH

Collection Highlights

The collection of objects and ephemera are the primary source for connecting to the stories of the past.

Rocktown History collection highlights

Klingstein Collection

During WWI, a French family nursed soldier Emmanuel Klingstein (1894-1971) during the 1918 influenza outbreak. The family donated letters and photos in 2020.

Rocktown History collection highlights

Fraktur Document

Pennsylvania Germans brought the tradition of recording significant life events on decorated documents to Rockingham Co. Fraktur are valued for artistic and genealogical details.

Rocktown History collection highlights

Toy Automobile

During the Great Depression, the Sharon Corporation produced toy cars at Eastern Mennonite University as a work study program to help students stay enrolled.


“What A Gem!”

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Bumped into this place from a conversation at a hotel in Harrisonburg. This is a great Historical Society. The displays were wonderful and the archive room was filled with valuable genealogy information.

Would never have known about this place! What a gem. And the lady that volunteers was incredibly informative and nice! Worth the time!
Pamela Perdue

Out of the way

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We visited on a week day an they where very nice, lots of history and very welcoming staff, easily spent two hours with my kids being entertained and learning. Awesome kids specific activities too!
Tysseer Harak

“Many Informative Displays”

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Worth a stop. Museum looks small on the outside but is a bit bigger once you get in. Many informative displays on the Civil War and also some of the other local history.

They also offer lots of brochures about activities in the area. I ended up doing a walking tour of Dayton based on a brochure I found and really enjoyed it. Plan on 45 minutes.
Michael Miller