First built in 1847 by the Selma Fraternal Lodge No. 27 of the Free and Accepted Masons as a school for orphans and children of indigent Masons, the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum has had a long history of service to the City of Selma. Throughout the years it has functioned as a school, a Confederate Hospital, a Freedman’s Bureau Hospital – making it Selma’s first African American Hospital, the Dallas County Courthouse, a Military School, the Vaughan Memorial Hospital, and finally a museum depicting Selma’s history from it’s founding until about 1960.

Stepping onto the third floor of the Museum is the same as stepping in the old Vaughan Memorial Hospital. The floors and walls have been restored to a vintage mid nineteenth century hospital and different departments of the hospital have been recreated such as the delivery room, nursery and operating room. As with the other public buildings, this one is also available for rent. The elegant furnishings and gardens make the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum ideal for brunch, bridal or wedding showers and receptions.