The most common firearms during the Colonial Era in America were flintlock rifles, which were used by soldiers and hunters across the colonies. Their name comes from the flint attached to the hammers of these guns, that struck the metal “frizzen” and caused a spark, which ignited the gunpowder in the barrel. You can learn more and see this flintlock rifle on display this weekend as part of the Salem Museum’s Hands-On History Saturday program.
Tonight at 7 p.m. at the Salem Museum, learn about Salem’s colonial leader at “Pioneer and Patriot: The Life of Andrew Lewis.” Garrett Channell, the Salem Museum’s director of education and archives, will share Lewis’ heroic story, the role he played in the French and Indian War, and how his actions during the Revolutionary War helped secure independence.
Join the Salem Museum on Sept. 2 for Colonial Living History Day. Costume interpreters will take visitors back to the Colonial Era in Southwest Virginia with a full day of living history. Colonial re-enactors will demonstrate professions, trades, and crafts that were essential, and tell stories about the men and women who built a life on Virginia’s frontier.
Both events are free and open to the public.