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Other Local History Exhibits

Rogers Auto-Biography: An Automotive History of Rogers
(May 16, 2009 through 2011)

The automobile first appeared in Rogers during the late 1800s and brought great changes to the community over the following decades. New businesses developed and roads were paved to support driving. Vehicles gave freedom, shaped memories of youth, defined identities, and reflected individual aspirations. The emergence of automobiles heralded new possibilities in life and changed the way our community functioned. Businesses changed to accommodate automobiles, dealerships moved into distinct buildings, and laws expanded to maintain order in a mechanized society. By the 1960s Rogers had been forever changed by the car. This exhibit recognizes that virtually all people have had an automotive experience in their lives, whether good or bad. We hope that visitors will find, and perhaps share, a connection to understanding our community through the vantage point of the automobile. Through exploring the interpretive text, images, and objects on display, visitors will be able to travel through the automotive history of Rogers. Two interactive hands-on activities allow visitors to match well-known local personalities to vehicles they were associated with in the past and try their hand at crank starting a genuine 1929 Model A engine. The gallery entrance was inspired by the streamlined Hailey Motor Co. building of the late 1940s, so be sure to visit and see what kind of deal you can take away.

 

Buried Dreams: "Coin" Harvey and Monte Ne

Opening May 1

 

Few small towns in Arkansas have a history as interesting as does Monte Ne.  Monte Ne began as the tiny hamlet of Silver Springs, but was transformed into a resort in the early 1900s by writer, politician, and entrepreneur William H. "Coin" Harvey.  Today most of historic Monte Ne lies under the waters of Beaver Lake.  But the fact that Harvey's resort is a "lost city" only seems to feed the public's fascination.  Now the Museum is going to open a new exhibit that will feature updated exhibit panels, new additions to the collection, and a documentary film on Monte Ne produced in 2008.

Of Promise and Pain: Life Between the Wars
(On view until July 24, 2010)

In 1920 a movie advertisement in the Rogers Democrat asked if the modern world was racing to ruin on a "wave of jazz and cocktails."  A decade later, amid stories of bankruptcies and bank failures, the Democrat's editor opined that "we had our party and we've been suffering from a headache ever since."  By 1936 the New Deal had eased the nation's economic "headache," but the threat of another war in Europe was raising new concerns about the future.  Visit "Of Promise and Pain" and explore life in Rogers and vicinity during the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression.  A wide variety of objects including clothing, household items, agricultural tools, and memorabilia from the two world's fairs held in the U.S. during the 1930s illustrate the era between the wars.  Exhibit panels filled with engaging images delve into topics such as "Crusading Women," "Wild Youth," "New Inventions," and "Collapsing Markets."  A hands-on interactive lets visitors try their skill as matching popular slang terms of the 1920s with the corresponding terms used today.
 

Virgil Lovelace and Life on the Farm
(On view until March 27, 2010)

Two decades ago the late Virgil Lovelace compiled his memories into a book he entitled A Kid's Eye View of Living on a Farm in Northwest Arkansas. Born in 1907 in the Little Flock community, Lovelace wrote his book to tell his grandchildren what it had been like to grow up on a farm back in the early 1900s, when "horsepower" meant the four-legged kind! Now the Rogers Historical Museum is using Lovelace's book and the many farm-related objects in its collection in an exhibit designed especially for families. Youngsters and adults alike will enjoy a "what's it" game in which visitors try to figure out what the fascinating farm tools in the "barn" were used for. Little ones will have fun playing with a model farm set or riding a barrel pony. And everyone will enjoy reading Virgil Lovelace's memories of chopping wood, drawing water, milking ornery cows, and butchering hogs to make bacon and sausage.
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