The original Beck's Mill was constructed in 1808. That facility served the needs of George Beck's family and the newly arriving settlers until approximately 1825. Then a new and enlarged Mill was reconstructed into a building of approximately 30 feet by 30 feet. The Mill was again rebuilt in 1863-64 and made into this two story structure. The Mill continued to operate until approximately 1950. In 2005 a group participating in the Awareness Washington County (AWC), a Washington County leadership development program, decided to explore the possibility of restoring the Mill. As a tribute to the determination of the members and their understanding of t ...

The Depot transforms the great moments of a past era of Monon history into a reality to be remembered and enjoyed by countless visitors — those who remember they were once kids, and those who have the spark of adventure and intrigue that says they still are. The Depot Museum 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. The Depot’s basement contains an HO scale model railroad that dep ...

John Hay was a great American statesman, diplomat, author and poet, whose political career spanned over 50 years. He was born in this small brick home, on College Avenue, in Salem, Indiana, on October 8, 1838. John was the fourth of five children, born in the house, to Dr. Charles Hay and the former Helen Leonard. The birthplace of John Hay is on the campus of the John Hay Center in Salem, Indiana

Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's men spent six days crossing through southern Indiana, leaving behind a swath of devastated homesteads and burnt buildings. Morgan’s men arrived in Salem on July 10th, 1863 at about 10:00am with four thousand men. After planting pieces of artillery on the hill south of Salem, he demanded the town’s surrender. Two men, home guards were killed west of Salem and another man was killed on Canton Road. Two other residents were shot but survived. A young man came to town with a squirrel rifle to defend Salem and was ordered to break his gun by Morgan’s men. He did not understand or comply and was shot down. The S ...

An ongoing project for the John Hay Center, the Pioneer Village continues to grow. The village is a replica of an 1830’s community featuring a jail, blacksmith, school, church, Haganman house, smoke house, barn, bell tower, loom house, and New Philadelphia Post Office and General Store. In 2023 the John Hay Center has also added a concert venue area.

The Piper Flight Center Museum is located at the Salem Municipal Airport in Salem, Indiana. The museum contains three vintage Piper air craft, a flight simulator, an a display room with several display cases containing numerous Piper artifacts dating back to the early beginning of Piper Aircraft Corporation. We have one of the largest collections of educational materials in the Midwest available at no charge to students and educators. We also have a library with 200 plus books for research and technical information. Also located in the display room is a replica of the Wright Brothers wind tunnel. There are over 125 pictures and a mini theater for vi ...

Blue River Friends Hicksite Meeting House is the oldest extant Quaker Meeting House in the State of Indiana. More than two hundred years have elapsed since the Blue River Friends Hicksite Meeting House came into existence. Early in the 1800’s many families of Friends came to southern Indiana in opposition to slavery and established homes and places of worship in Washington County. Leaving comfortable homes in North Carolina, they traveled together to the lands that would soon become the states of Indiana and Ohio. The desire to live in a place where every man, woman, and child was a free person and to enjoy the liberties granted to them in the newl ...

Salem secured a grant of $16,000 from the Carnegie Corporation of New York in February 1904 and broke ground in August of 1904. The Salem Library opened in July 1905 and is still in use today as the Salem Community Library. The Carnegie Library in Salem is one of just one hundred in the state of Indiana still being used for its original purpose. Indiana received more than 160 grants from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to build public libraries (more than any other state).

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. The Stevens Memorial Museum also houses the Washingto ...