A Taste of History

[Allen]

I have recently visited several historical societies in my area. One I toured in Salem, Ohio I thought was very impressive. If anyone is ever in the area I highly recommend it. They also have trolley tours of homes in Salem that were involved in the underground railroad. At the historical society itself are three buildings containing a wide variety of historical items which include kitchen gadgets, doctor's tools, toys, clothing, equipment related to several professions (including mining and photography), and war history. Many of the doctor's tools were just foot powered versions of the ones still in use today. They even showed us a foot powered dentist's drill. Imagine getting your teeth worked on with that! I took quite a few pictures during the tour. One of the members was even kind enough to demonstrate how their player piano worked. Here is some information I found on the Salem Historical Society's site. Many of the items they have on display have been generously donated by people in the area.

"In 1845, William C. Williams constructed his unique brick home and store at the eastern end of downtown Salem, Va. A merchant and hotelier by trade, Williams also became an amateur builder of some reputation, most notably designing the first Roanoke County courthouse (1841-1909). His house, the last known of his structures to survive, served as a store and residence.

After Williams’ death in 1852, the house passed to his daughter and son-in-law Mary and Joshua Brown. They continued to operate the store and live in the house until their son, William E. Brown, took it over after the Civil War. The Williams-Brown House stayed in the same family for the better part of a century.

After the deaths of William Brown and his wife Carrie, the house passed through several stages. It was a Roanoke College fraternity house for a while, served briefly as office space, and was carved up into apartments for much of the twentieth century. In 1970, the house became the first in Salem listed on the national Register of Historic Places. But by the 1980s, it was vacant and dilapidated, and the owner at the time wanted to raze the building and develop the lot.

Enter the Salem Historical Society. Concerned with such an historic building being lost from main Street, the group convinced the owner to donate the building on the condition it be moved from the original site at the corner of Craig Ave. and Main Street. After securing a tract nearby Logwood Park, SHS relocated the grand old building in 1987. After extensive renovations, the Salem Museum opened in 1992.

Over time SHS outgrew the space available in the Williams-Brown House, and the board of directors began to envision a major expansion project. Two goals were adopted from the start: To preserve the historic integrity of the original house, and to protect the environment with cutting-edge environmental design. A capital campaign to raise the necessary funds commenced, and soon over $2.7 million was raised from the state and local governments, private foundations, corporations, and interested individuals. The expanded Salem Museum re-opened to the public on September 25th, 2010."



"The Museum

The Salem Historical Society Museum is a nonprofit volunteer organization which maintains three buildings to house and display the many historical artifacts. Its purpose is to collect, explain, and preserve Salem's history.

The Museum buildings are open each Sunday afternoon, May through October. There is a small admission charge.




Organizations are encouraged to schedule tours for their members. School reunions often include the Museum in their planned activities. Arrangements for special tours for groups of five or more can be made by calling the Museum Director at 337-8514.


MAIN MUSEUM BUILDINGS

In December, 1971, W. Ray Pearce donated the first museum, Pearce Building, at 208 South Broadway Avenue in memory of his wife, Elizabeth. The corner brick building, Schell Building, was purchased in 1974 and the two were then connected. In 1979 a meeting room was added with a grant from the Salem Community Foundation.

Items on display cover a wide range of subjects. Many of the rooms have a special theme, including the following:

One-Room School, with Fourth Street school desks, woodstove, books, clock, dunce cap

Clothing Room, wedding dresses on models, hats, gloves, shoes

War Room, with uniforms and personnel items from the Spanish-American War to Viet Nam

Doctor's Office, in its actual location, with instruments and equipment used by Salem doctors and pharmacists

Kitchen, has a Salem made Woodruff coal cookstove, Deming Company hand pump, 1916 Maytag washer, and a variety of irons

Music Room, displays instruments, uniforms, band photos, radios

Industrial Room, research metal products with catalogs, photos and artifacts with emphasis on the W. H. Mullin's Company.

Colonial Bedroom, with rope bed, and quilts, cradles, furnishings

Library, historical, census and scrapbooks for research and genealogy

Victorian Parlor, where furniture, music box, pump organ, and bear rug depict the era

Toy Room, filled with nostalgia of games, dolls, racers, and wagons

Special exhibits within the rooms of the Museum include Wall of Fame, cameras, typewriters, seashells, industrial models, bottles, old store equipment, Salem China Co., ethnic items of Romanians and Saxons, and photo displays of churches, trolleys, and other areas of local history.

There are hundreds of special artifacts on display at the Salem Historical Museum. These objects --legacies of yesteryear-- give life to the past, making history more than just words on a printed page. The collection is a meaningful and tangible part of our heritage. Each item helps to complete the Salem story."

[Allen]

Here are a few of the pictures I took on my tour.

[Allen]

Some more pictures..

[Allen]

In the kitchen...

[Allen]

I am not sure what this item was anymore. It was in the kitchen of the home, but I am unsure as to what it was used for.

[Allen]

continued..

[kssunflower]

Thanks for this interesting post. I love to see the innovative gadgets of the past. The circa 1860's stagecoach stop I volunteer for has a hair wreath on the parlor wall.

[patsy]

Thanks for sharing about the museum and showing us the fascinating pictures, Allen. I've never seen a wooden bathtub or a mechanical flyswatter. Flies and fleas had to be such an annoying problem back in the day.

[Allen]

The stagecoach stop sounds very interesting kssunflower. I am interested in all these gadgets. I spent two hours on this tour, which was supposed to run only about 45 minutes

[kssunflower]

Here's a link to it:

http://www.olatheks.org/Mahaffie/About

Usually when taking tours, I'm at the end of the group dawdling along. I remember when a friend and I went to the Titanic exhibit recently in Kansas City, I was the last one off the boat.