Updated: 10/10/2009 
Broken Arrow Historical Society
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Description

We have a professionally-designed gallery, with 14 interactive and themed exhibits. We wanted vistors to say "Wow" upon entering the gallery, and they do! They are greeted by a Civil War era log cabin that tells the story of a Medal of Honor recipient, Ernest Childers of Broken Arrow, and 3 generations of his family.

The Creek Tribal Town gave Broken Arrow its name during Indian Territory days, and their story is told in a multi-sensory 'outdoor' environment. The city is a little over 100 years old, and we capture the first 65 years of its rich story. Come in and spin our game wheel at the Rooster Day carnival booth, be the conductor of our scaled railroad, and see the slideshow of Veterans' stories. Learn what Ernest Childers did to win the Medal of Honor in Oliveto, Italy by seeing a diorama and story that shows you.

History

Our society began in 1975 and has a large collection of artifacts, photos, and documents that record lifestyle and events of Broken Arrow's history. We outgrew our former facilty that we had been in since 1993 and moved into a new 3-story museum building built in a territorial style of architecture. We opened our gallery on June 6, 2009 to a crowd of 2,000. We offer events throughout the year like the "Deck the Halls" historical home tour and the "Pioneer Dinner".

Artifact Collections

Household goods range from a house (log cabin), rope bed and other furniture to a radio and audio players that show the progression in technology from cylinder to vinyl disks. Our photo collection numbers 1200 and dates back to pre-statehood days. A high grade steel jail cell from the 1930s houses the Police exhibit, and visitors can go inside. Agricultural implements include items used to cultivate cotton and animal husbandry tools. A model of a Bucyrus coal shovel highlights the coal exhibit. We have military uniforms from WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. Many accoutrements accompany the uniforms. Retail artifacts include a grocer's butcher table and saw, two early 1900 cash registers, ice cream parlor table, 1908 barber pole and razor collection, and a 1900 harness and saddle full size mannequin horse made of steel and canvas. 1904 student desks from our first school are in our school exhibit. Muscogee-Creek Bible, hymnal, and a Dawes Roll allotment deed appear in the Tribal Town exhibit.

Research Collections

Vertical files, newspapers, and photographs chronicle the city's history from 1902 to present.

Programs

Docent training, docent-led tours, lectures to city groups are all available through the museum. The society monthly meetings (Sept-April) offer guest lecturers open to the public. We do other community outreach when we can, such as historical characters (actors).

Library

Access: General Public

Appointment required: True

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