Crossroads: Change in Rural America exhibit opens

The Oklahoma Historical Society, in cooperation with Oklahoma Humanities, is pleased to announce that the Smithsonian Institution Museum on Main Street traveling exhibition Crossroads: Change in Rural America is coming to Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum March 26–May 7, 2022.

Americans come together at the crossroads. They invest in places and build their futures where their paths cross. Small towns became centers of commerce, trade, local politics, and culture. For some, the crossroads affirmed a new life in a new place. For others, the crossroads meant hard work and hard times.

Oklahomans will have a unique opportunity to consider their crossroads stories through the exhibit’s themes of rural identity, community, land, perseverance and managing change. Each site will engage visitors in complementary programming, celebrating their town’s history and accomplishments and addressing community concerns.

Crossroads: Change in Rural America is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and state Humanities Councils nationwide. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the US Congress. This exhibit will visit six communities in Oklahoma on its tour of the state.

Tree at a crossroads, courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service