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| VISION — PLAN — ROCK-SOLID
FOUNDATION ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS |
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The John Hay Center Complex307 East Market St.
The Stevens Memorial Museum was built in 1970 to preserve community history and heritage. A major expansion was completed in 1995. The beautiful two-and-one-half story brick building is built of native brick from local old historic buildings. The museum features old-time law and dentist offices. There are hundreds of native historic relics. Many Civil War mementos are included along with tools, agriculture tools and items, beautiful furniture, clothing and other displays. Visitors will find it historically educational and fulfilling in developing an association with the lifes of our ancestors. Genealogy and Historical Library - The Stevens Memorial Museum also houses the Washington County Historical Society Genealogy and Historical Library. Many researchers from all over the United States come here to work on special projects. A small library staff is available to work with researchers. The library not only contains Indiana and local records but also maintains data and records from other states. Types of data included are: family histories, church records, cemetery records, obituaries, census records, marriage records, newspapers, state and county histories and antique photographs.
The Depot Railroad Museum stands as a tribute to and reminder of Salem’s role in organizing the railroad that served much of Indiana for 125 years. Sections or the line continue to serve as key segments of the CSX system. It is one of the newest additions to the John Hay Center. The Depot contains antique furniture from railroad stations, including the original waiting room benches from the Salem station that was torn down in 1982. Also, there are displays of railroad equipment and tools, signs, advertisements, signals and lanterns. A worker’s motor car and a station’s baggage wagon are on display. Cases are filled with railroad china and glassware, timetables and advertising pieces. The Depot’s basement contains an HO scale model railroad that depicts Washington County as it was in the 1950s and 1860s. A team of volunteers is rebuilding Salem, Pekin and Campbellburg as they were a half century ago.
Both The Stevens Memorial Museum and The Depot provide scheduled tours with ample prior notification. # # # |
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Thomas
Hopper is credited with being the first settler to
what is now Washington County. George Brock was the
first man to settle in the immediate vicinity of Salem.
From early settlements came men and women who prominently
figured in the development of Washington County.
The
Depot Railroad Museum