Showcase for History -- 2011 Exhibit Schedule at the Powers Museum of Carthage, Missouri

Museum closed for 2012 Winter Season to prepare for HVAC replacement project.  Access to Reference Library/Archives by advance appointment only. Please identify yourself as a NHD student/teacher, if appropriate, so we can expedite your requests. 

If interested in access to Gift Shop, please note that the museum sells limited books, Rt. 66 souvenir items and its new 2012 Calendar at Oldies & Oddities on the westside of the Courthouse Square.  They are open seven days a week from 10 am to 5 pm.  For mail order sales see Gift Shop Page of website.

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Exhibit Mission 

The Powers Museum is dedicated to presenting rotating exhibits on local and Missouri history as well as displays on other subject areas respresented by the founding collection from the Marian Powers Winchester Estate.  

During 2012 our main focus will continue to be the U.S. Civil War Sesquicentennial and the museum will eventually feature many items never displayed before including documents of Curtis Wright's Civil War service, Dr. John Alexander Powers' pre-Civil War surgical kit, and Winchester family furniture made in Kentucky and brought to Joplin/Carthage after the Civil War.  Other displays and special exhibits later in the year will focus on quilts and holiday celebrations.

Remember, there are no permanent exhibits at the museum, so be sure to visit often and participate in our special programs and mini-exhibits. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for updates or check our website often.  Also be advised during some of the transition periods between traveling exhibits or set up of new displays, access to exhibit gallery may be limited or closed during early stages of work. 

2012 Exhibit Schedule

Opening dates to be posted for 2012 once progress of HVAC replacement project is known.  The installation schedule is beyond the control of the Powers Museum Board and is subject to unique construction factors being experienced in southwest Missouri at this time.

Opening Dates for these exhibit below will vary depending on staff access to exhibit gallery once repair project has been concluded.  Please confirm before visiting.

Father and Son Go to War featuring the service of Captain William Wilberforce Wright and Curtis Wright in the U.S. Civil War through letters and documents.

Carthage Civil War Veterans will be a rotating display of service stories of local veterans whether living in Carthage before the war or residents after the war.

Songs My Mother Taught Me featuring Civil War-era Music As Sung by Marian Wright Powers (in her professional career as a coloratura soprano in the first half of the twentieth century).

October 2012

Maple Leaf Festival Quilt Show featuring historic quilts from the community and the museum.  More information to come.

Mid-November 2012 to Mid-December 2012

Carthage Christmas 1900-1949 with special focus on historic greeting cards for the holiday.  More information to come.

2010 Exhibits (No longer on display - web presentation in process of being moved to Past Exhibits page during late Jan. and will not be seen here as of February.)

Our observance of the 150th Anniversary of the U. S. Civil War began last year with the hosting of the National Endowment for the Humanities ON THE ROAD traveling exhibit Lee and Grant, courtesy ExhibitsUSA & MidAmerica Arts Alliaance. Click here for exhibit info, links and programs presented in 2010.

Photographic selections from 2010 Spring/Summer Exhibit featuring Missouri Courthouses and our own Jasper County Courthouse.  Left: Iron County Courthouse.  Right:  General view of three other courthouses formerly on display.  The museum still has several copies of the book that this exhibit was made from and they are available for purchase in the gift shop during regular hours.

Eric Peer's NHD 2010 Project displayed in library/meeting room during summer 2010.   If any students are interested on working on a local history topic for this year's National History Day theme, please contact the museum this fall for idea suggestions.

ALL Past Exhibits at the Powers Museum can be reviewed <strong>here.</strong>  Selected images, documents and additional links are included in this listing for most of our major exhibits from 1988 to 2010.

Current Online Exhibits  

Riches from the Earth -- The Industrial Heritage of Jasper County featuring the lead and zinc mines along with its limestone quarries (MDHI site version Riches from the Earth or full exhibit version).

Exerpts from past exhibits on Carthage or our collections with the links below.

Carthage in the 1860s–1870s

Carthage in the New Century: 1900–1909



Topsy Turvy Puzzles of the 1930s — Homegrown Fun

LOOKING AHEAD at the Powers Museum

2013 & 2014:  Suggestions for Exhibit Themes ?????? Feel free to email your ideas to the museum.

Image at top of page:  Jasper County Courthouse as photographed and copyrighted by Michele Newton Hansford.  Used with permission.