Crossroads exhibit comes to Bosque County Subhead Smithsonian traveling exhibition highlights changing landscape of rural America
Local Report Wed, 10/09/2024 - 06:04 Image
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The Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street, in cooperation with Texas Historical Commission, presents Crossroads: Change in Rural America, an exhibition examining the evolving landscape of rural American. The exhibition opens at the Bosque Museum on October 12 and Crossroads will be on view through December 1.
Bosque County was expressly chosen by the Texas Historical Commission to host Crossroads as part of the Museum on Main Street program—a national/ state/local partnership to bring exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations. The exhibition will tour seven communities in Texas from August 24, 2024 through August 2, 2025; an itinerary can be found at texastimetravel. com/plan/the-smithsoniancomes- to-texas.
Crossroads explores how rural American communities changed in the 20th Century. From sea to shining sea, the vast majority of the United States landscape remains rural with only 3.5% of the landmass considered urban. Since 1900, the percentage of Americans living in rural areas dropped from 60% to 17%. The exhibition looks at that remarkable societal change and how rural Americans responded.
Americans have relied on rural crossroads for generations. These places where people gather to exchange goods, services and culture and to engage in political and community discussions are an important part of our cultural fabric. Despite the massive economic and demographic impacts brought on by these changes, America’s small towns continue to creatively focus on new opportunities for growth and development.
“ Crossroads allows us to reflect on Bosque County’s history, present and future and we are excited to explore what the future may hold for our community,” said Erin Shields, Executive Director of the Bosque Museum. “We want to convene conversations about what makes our community unique and have developed local exhibitions and public programs to complement the Smithsonian exhibition.” Such free events include Nights at the Museum, a selfguided walking tour of Downtown Clifton, and more.
Designed for smalltown museums, libraries and cultural organizations, Crossroads will serve as a community meeting place for conversations about how rural America has changed. With the support and guidance of state humanities councils, these towns will develop complementary exhibits, host public programs and facilitate educational initiatives to raise people’s understanding about their own history, the joys and challenges of living rural, how change has impacted their community, and prompt discussion of goals for the future.
The exhibition is part of Museum on Main Street, a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation, and local host institutions. To learn more about “Crossroads” and other Museum on Main Street exhibitions, visit www. museumonmainstreet. org. Support for MoMS has been provided by the U.S. Congress and the Texas Historical Commission. SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for more than 65 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play. For exhibition description and tour schedules, visit www.sites.si.edu.
The Bosque Museum is dedicated to protect and preserve Bosque County’s historic and prehistoric resources for the use, education, enjoyment, and economic benefit of the public it serves. The museum is located at 301 South Avenue Q in Clifton, and the current open hours are Thursday – Saturday; 10 am – 5 pm, and Sunday 12 pm – 5 pm.
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