On Saturday, October 22, 2022 at 5 p.m. in the South Residence Hall Courtyard, we will host the Cherokee Commemoration. During this ceremony, a plaque honoring the thirteen Cherokee girls who attended Salem in the 19th century will be dedicated in the courtyard of South Residence Hall, the original building where boarding students lived.
Joining our community for the plaque dedication and unveiling ceremony will be Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Chuck Hoskin Jr., First Lady January Hoskin and daughter Jasmine Hoskin, Jack Baker, President of the National Trail of Tears Association, The Rev. Dr. Neil Routh, President of the Southern Province Provincial Elders’ Conference, representatives of the Cherokee Nation and descendants of the Cherokee students who attended Salem.
The commemoration day will include exhibits of relevant historic documents and artifacts throughout the campus of Salem Academy and College, Old Salem Museum and Gardens, the Moravian Archives and God's Acre.
The following exhibits will be open for visitors on October 22:
Open 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Cherokee baskets and Vogler gun display in MESDA, Old Salem
Timothy Vogler, Salem’s local gunsmith, traded and sold guns to the Cherokee. He brought Araminta Ann Ross in a wagon to Salem from the Cherokee Nation to attend school.
The Doctor's House in Old Salem
An exhibit of medicinal plants and how they were used in the Cherokee Nation is on display. This was attributed to Sister Anna Rosina Gambold, a teacher and Moravian missionary serving in the Cherokee Nation.
Open 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Salem Academy and College South Residence Hall
South Residence Hall, built in 1805 as the original residential building for boarding students, was the dormitory where the Cherokee girls lived. The lobby will be open and will display the registration book and financial record books of the Cherokee students and the school newspapers that mention them.
Salem Academy and College Single Sisters House
Tours of Single Sisters House will include the Museum and a new exhibit on the Cherokee girls as well as a continuous showing of a Trail of Tears movie.
The Grave of Sophia Dorothea Ruede Vogler in Salem’s God’s Acre
She was a teacher in the Boarding school, a teacher in the Moravian missions in Spring Place, Georgia, and in Indian Territory after the Trail of Tears.
Open 1 - 4 p.m.
The Moravian Archives
On display will be historic Cherokee maps, diaries, letters and autograph books.