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 1898. From manufacturing to schools to pools, find your history in the new exhibit in our featured gallery.
An 1898 letter to the editor of The Rockingham Register announced the “birth” of the Rockingham Historical Society, proclaiming that the young organization must be fed “Not merely dry, dull, facts, but incidents of truthful adventure, pioneer life, portraiture of stalwart characters, and scenes and sights of early days.”
Urging “enthusiastic and intelligent members” to “collect relics, compile biographical, geographical, and historical facts, narratives, and descriptions of persons and places of former days in our own county,” F. A Byerly identified the very things that have led to the success and growth of the Society.
This exhibition explores how the Society has collected, maintained, and recorded the history of Rockingham County and Harrisonburg throughout the many years of its existence. A mere sampling of our holdings, the pieces here reflect the multi-pronged approach that has characterized the Society’s collecting and programming for many years.
From 1898 to 2023, the collections have flourished on the generosity of our many “enthusiastic and intelligent members,” and we tip our hat to all past and present supporters, and encourage a new generation to add their perspectives on our culture and history.