Museums

McCurtain County is home to several excellent museums showcasing the area's history and craftsmanship!

Culture and history are plentiful in McCurtain County museums, each with its own unique style to offer a rewarding learning experience. The Gardner Mansion and Museum is well-known for their collection of pre-historic and historic Indian and pioneer artifacts. The museum was originally a mansion built in 1884 for Jefferson Gardner who later went on to be the Chief of the Choctaws Indians for several years. Also located outside the museum are the remains of a 2,000 year-old Cypress tree.

At the entrance to the Beavers Bend Resort Park lies the Beavers Bend Wildlife Museum. Not only does this museum feature wildlife exhibits but also environmental education, making it a true learning experience for all ages.

The Forest Heritage Center Museum is located within the Beavers Bend Resort Park. Through a series of 14 large dioramas, painted by famous Smokey Bear artist Harry Rossoll, visitors learn the important role forestry plays in their lives.

The Forest Heritage Center is also home to another Harry Rossoll creation, Tree Bear, who was developed to encourage tree planting and spread the message "Good Things Come From Trees!" One of the museum's newest exhibits, "The People of the Forest," includes over 150 historic photographs illustrating early day logging in and around Broken Bow and the surrounding communities.

 

Peter Toth Totem Pole: This is one in a 50 state series of "Trail of Tears" sculptures by Hungarian artist, Peter Toth. Mr. Peter Wolf Toth came to Oklahoma to sculpt Oklahoma's Indian monuments. Mr. Toth's goal in life was to complete at least one sculpture in each of the fifty states. To date, he has done 67 monuments. All of his monuments are his own concept of the North American Indian and bear many similarities, except for certain characteristics, which pertain to the Indians of that region, such as feathers, headbands, or other decorations.

The Museum of the Red River houses one of the finest and most comprehensive Native American collections to be found anywhere. Changing, interpretive exhibits feature the historic, prehistoric, and contemporary native cultures of both North and South America. The museum is located on the south edge of Idabel.

Dinosaur on Display at Museum of the Red River
The most complete Acrocanthosaurus dinosaur skeleton ever found was excavated in McCurtain County and its cast is now on display at the Museum of the Red River in Idabel.

Excavated in the 1980s by two local paleontologists, the skeleton of Acrocanthosaurus is almost 40 feet long and 15 feet tall from the hip. Acrocanthosaurus was the largest meat-eating dinosaur in North America during its era, some 90 - 100 million years ago.

Also located west of Idabel is the Gene Autry Museum which has a large collection of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers memorabilia.

The Car Legends Museum has the area's finest collections of muscle cars of the 60s and 70s.

Wheelock Academy located in Millerton is a former Native-American girl's boarding school and an important part of the Choctaw history, and is currently being restored for the use of preserving the Choctaw culture and heritage. A National Historic Landmark, on this site are the surviving portions of a remarkable educational institution which symbolizes two centuries of commitment by the Choctaw Nation to educate its people.

The origins of the school date from the 1830s when dedicated Christian missionaries followed the Choctaws over the Trail of Tears to establish schools and churches among them. Of those original mission structures, only the 1847 stone church survives and is located a short distance southwest of the present academy. The new boarding-style school was established on the present site in 1884 with four buildings serving fifty orphan Choctaw girls. From that meager beginning, the school thrived and expanded in response to an ever increasing demand for educational services for young Native American females.

The academy was closed in 1955 as a result of the U.S. government policy which placed Indian students in public schools to better prepare them to function in the wider society and culture.

McCurtain County Museums

Beavers Bend Wildlife Museum

www.pine-net.com/nature 580-494-6193    Located at the entrance to Beavers Bend State Park, May through August Hours are Monday through Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Car Legends Museum

580-286-2220    Located between Broken Bow and Idabel on Hwy 259, Idabel Tuesday through Friday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Forest Heritage Center

www.beaversbend.com fhc@beaversbend.com 580-494-6497    Located in Beavers Bend State Park, Open 365 days year from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is Free.

Gardner Mansion & Museum

580-584-6588    East of Broken Bow, Call for an appointment

Gene Autry Museum

580-286-3747    West of Idabel, Call for an Appointment

Indian Memorial Museum

580-584-6531    402 E 2nd Street, Broken Bow Open Thursday through Monday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is Free

Museum of the Red River

www.museumoftheredriver.org 580-286-3616    812 E. Lincoln Rd, Idabel Admission is Free

Wheelock Academy

www/Wheelock@valliant.net 580-746-2139   Millerton Grounds are open 7 days a week 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Museum & Gift Shop hours Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

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