Fran Ferguson is retiring after seven years as director of the Salem Museum on Saturday, August 17, to be replaced by Garrett Channell, her assistant for the past few years.
Ferguson cited health reasons for her retirement.
Under her collaborative leadership, “We’ve done a lot,” she says. “I’m especially proud of our Salem Champions Gallery and our ‘Through Their Eyes’ gallery which traces local history back to the 1600s, shedding light on the development of Salem and Roanoke County.
“The museum has had a refresh from top to bottom (five floors) and we’ve had lots of wonderful speakers and special event days. We have made a real effort to include all aspects of life in Salem—history, arts, sports, geology, and the environment, for example—and to fill in the gaps in our history by adding stories of women and minorities.”
Channell is a 2020 honors graduate of Roanoke College and is working toward a master’s degree in Museum Studies at Harvard University. His professional experience includes internships at the Library of Congress and Roanoke College.
As the Salem Museum’s lead educator for the past three years, he has developed creative educational programs for all ages as well as enhancing the Museum’s professional curatorial standards. Channell works collaboratively with other institutions, and has joined the Fincastle Company, a group of costumed living historians who interpret life in western Virginia during the Revolutionary War. Garrett portrays a Colonial bookbinder.
Ferguson, a native of Salem, is the former director of the Transportation Museum of Virginia. She says, “I have loved being at the Salem Museum, giving back to the community that raised me. Salem is really special, and I have been delighted to share our story with visitors from around the world (including a family from Easter Island).
“Attendance has shot up over the years, even with the break for COVID. We serve thousands of school children from Salem, Roanoke City and County, Montgomery County and Pulaski. Still, a few folks tell us they drive by every day but have never been in. But that’s changing, and people from all over the Roanoke Valley are enjoying their visits—which are still free, by the way.
The museum is located the 1845 Williams-Brown House, on Main Street in Salem.
