O. Winston Link Museum

Just one week until Preserving Your Past: Photographs.

Join the Museum's Curator for this hands-on workshop and learn the professional techniques used to identify, handle, and safely preserve family photographs. Whether you are caring for a few treasured images or an entire collection, you'll leave with the knowledge and confidence to protect them for future generations.

Space is limited, but there is still time to register. Reserve your spot today at https://square.link/u/7fUV3Ooz

Tomorrow at 3pm, join us for Music for the Museum: A Concert for Collections at Heights Community Church.

Enjoy an afternoon of beautiful music and stories from Roanoke's cultural past while supporting the preservation of our region's history. Tickets are just $10 and available at the door.

We hope to see you there!

Tomorrow is Local Summer Saturday and residents of select localities can enjoy FREE admission to the Roanoke History Museum and O. Winston Link Museum with proof of residence!

Bring the family and explore interactive exhibits, see Summer Artist-in-Residence Bryce Cobbs at work, and don't miss your LAST chance to experience our VA250 exhibitions, Valley of Virginia: Leader in Liberty and Western Virginia Tribal Nations: Preserving Culture, Identity, and Traditions.

History, art, and family fun await. We hope to see you tomorrow!

Want to learn how to better care for your family photographs?

There is still time to register for Preserving Your Past: Photographs, a hands-on workshop led by the Museum's Curator that will teach participants how to identify different photo types, recognize signs of deterioration, and use professional archival techniques to safely handle and store photographs.

While registration for the supply package option has closed so that materials could be ordered, a new participation-only registration option is now available. This option includes the full workshop experience and all instruction, allowing participants to learn the skills and techniques needed to preserve their own collections at home.

Participation-only registration is $42 for HSWV members and $60 for non-members. Register at https://square.link/u/7fUV3Ooz.

Space is limited and registration is required. Register today to reserve your spot.

Just one week until our first Summer Saturday of the season!

On Saturday, June 13, residents of Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Salem, Botetourt County, Bedford County, Craig County, Franklin County, Floyd County, and Montgomery County can enjoy FREE admission to both the Roanoke History Museum and O. Winston Link Museum.

Bring the whole family and explore interactive exhibits, local history, and railroad photography. There is something for visitors of all ages to discover.

This will also be your last chance to see our VA250 exhibitions, Valley of Virginia: Leader in Liberty and Western Virginia Tribal Nations: Preserving Culture, Identity, and Traditions. These exhibitions opened in January 2025 as part of the kickoff of Virginia's 250th commemoration, and they explore the region's role in the revolutionary era as well as the enduring histories and cultures of Western Virginia's Indigenous communities.

As a special bonus, Summer Artist-in-Residence Bryce Cobbs, joined by geospatial analyst David Massey, will be working in the museum on pieces for the upcoming Rooted in Roanoke exhibition, a partnership with the Roanoke Arts Commission and Noel C. Taylor Academy.

Mark your calendars and join us for a day of history, art, and family fun.

Our Summer Saturday Series is sponsored by Spectrum Design.

Only 1 day left to register for Preserving Your Past: Family Photographs.

Join the Museum’s Curator for a hands-on workshop focused on safely preserving your family photographs using professional archival techniques. Participants will receive archival-quality supplies to use during the session and take home afterward.

Registration closes tomorrow so there is enough time to order and prepare the specialty preservation materials included with the workshop.

Space is limited. Register now: https://square.link/u/7fUV3Ooz

June’s programs offer three very different ways to engage with history, creativity, and the museum’s mission.

Looking for a creative night out? After Hours Makers Series: Embroidered Memories on June 12 invites participants to transform vintage and found photographs into embroidered works of art in a relaxed, beginner-friendly workshop. Registration required: https://square.link/u/JRvpGhSM $20 for HSWV members / $25 for non-members.

Want to support local history while enjoying live performance? Music for the Museum: A Concert for Collections on June 14 combines music by Schubert, Bernstein, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and more with stories from Roanoke’s cultural past. All proceeds benefit the Historical Society of Western Virginia’s collections endowment. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Interested in learning professional preservation techniques for your own family photographs? Preserving Your Past: Photographs on June 27 is a hands-on workshop where participants will learn archival handling and storage methods while working with museum-quality preservation supplies they can take home afterward. Registration required: https://square.link/u/7fUV3Ooz $125 for members / $150 for non-members. Please note that registration closes June 4 so specialty materials can be ordered in time for the workshop.

Just 2 weeks until Music for the Museum: A Concert for Collections.

Join us for an afternoon of live music featuring Adelaide Trombetta, Kevin Matheson, and Melia Garber performing works by Franz Schubert, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Leonard Bernstein, and Rodgers & Hammerstein. Historian Nelson Harris will also share stories from Roanoke’s cultural history throughout the program.

All proceeds benefit the Historical Society of Western Virginia’s Sara Airheart Endowment for Collections, helping support the care and preservation of the region’s history.

Sunday, June 14 at 3pm
Heights Community Church
$10 tickets available at the door

Opening weekend is here at the Crystal Spring Pump Station.

Step inside one of Roanoke’s most remarkable industrial landmarks and experience the historic Snow Steam Pump, which supplied water to downtown Roanoke from 1905 to 1959. Built around the massive machine itself, the station tells the story of how Crystal Spring helped shape the city’s growth and development.

Visitors can see the pump in motion, explore exhibits on Roanoke’s early water system, view historic maps and photographs, and learn how this site continues to connect the city to its oldest source of drinking water.

Free tours are offered Saturdays from 12pm–4pm and Sundays from 1pm–4pm throughout the summer. The building is ADA accessible and air conditioned.

Join us this weekend for the first tours of the season.

One day left.

Submissions for On the Rails close tomorrow for the second iteration of the photography exhibition at the O. Winston Link Museum.

The Roanoke History & O. Winston Link Museums is accepting final entries featuring trains and railroad subjects for this exhibition, on view June 25 through November 8, 2026.

Photographers of all levels may submit up to two images inspired by railroading, whether contemporary, historic, or influenced by O. Winston Link. Youth photographers under 17 are encouraged to apply.

If selected, works must be exhibition-ready at the time of drop-off.

Final deadline: May 27, 2026

Submit now: [email protected]

Questions: 540.982.5465

Don’t miss your chance to be part of this exhibition.