the john hay center

This museum is a jewel for our county! The Genealogy library is great for research into your family tree. For a place that runs off of donations, they do a super job! Everyone is friendly and knowledegable.

I was in Salem looking into family history. The attendants in the Hay Center were very knowledgeable and accommodating. They shared information that was not easily found in my personal family documents.

My family visited the Hay Center during the Old Settler's Days, the small area that includes a museum, the home where John Hay was born, and a train depot museum, as well as several cabins used for a blacksmith shop, saloon, jail, schoolhouse, etc. There were booths galore selling all sorts of items and actors walking around portraying various people from history; John Williams, Abraham Lincoln, Mrs. Stonewall Jackson, and James Whitcomb Riley among others. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. This is special outing for the family, we will return again next year!

John Hay was a personal secretary to Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln fully trusted his friend John Hay and would often ask his opinion on critical matters. After Lincoln's death Hay eventually became Secretary of State for both President's McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt and was instrumental in the making of the Panama Canal! The John Hay Center is a four pronged historical experience. You have the house John Hay was born in and can tour at certain times. Also, you have the Stevens Museum which houses historical artifacts from Salem and Washington County for a small fee. They also have a railroad museum and a pioneer village. The village is replica 1830's complete with a jail,blacksmith,school,church,and much more. It is an ongoing project and each mid-September they have an Old Settler's Day complete with interpreters in period dress. This is a very interesting complex and they have done a great job. I believe John Hay and President Lincoln would approve! Go to John Hay center,Salem,Indiana to check for viewing times.