Powers Museum - Past Exhibits Since 1988 at Powers Museum of Carthage, Missouri

Symbols of Collective Memory: Photographic Survey of Missouri Courthouse Architecture courtesy of Missouri Alliance of Historic Preservation and The Sheldon Art Gallery of St. Louis, Missouri. Was based on Dennis Weiser's book Missouri Courthouses: Building Memories on the Square. The 1895 Jasper County Courthouse Quilt was part of this temporay display.

The Art of Marian Wright Powers & Ida Chubb featuring painting on furniture and china by two Carthaginians from the founding collection of the Powers Museum.

Lee and Grant, a traveling exhibit from the On the Road program of the National Endowment for the Humanities courtesy the Virginia Historical Society and Mid-America Art Alliance/ExhibitsUSA of Kansas City, Missouri. Click here for more details on exhibit and its sponsors. To see 2010 special programs associated with last year's exhibit, click here.

2009
Southwest Missouri Quad Art Show
sponsored by the Springfield Regional Arts Council

Art from the Powers Family Home & Art from the Bank of Carthage Art Shows of the 1960s & 1970s

Powers Museum Quilt Collection (by request for special digitization project) See two examples that were on view. Courthouse Quilts and Rose of Sharon Quilts.

2008
Entertaining Carthage through the Years
a look at various entertainment venues and leisure activities in honor of hosting the Missouri Humanities Council's "That's Entertainment" Chautauqua.

Mapping Missouri
from the Missouri State Archives along with mini-display
Mapping Carthage
Click here to see two items from display.

Grand Ole Opry: Photographs by Gordon Cillingham courtesy Carthage Council on the Arts & Community Foundation of the Ozarks as arranged by Mid-America Arts Alliance.

Letters of History
Exploration of how the museum has used its archival collection (the highlight of which is a 150+ box family letter collection created by the Wright and Powers families) to identify artifacts in the collection and relate that artifact's story and significance to either the Wright-Powers families or some other aspect of Carthage history.

An example of this is the "Christmas Spider Web" created in one corner of the gallery. The non-traditional method of Christmas gift distribution among the Wright family was discovered through various holiday letters written by both children and adults during the 1890s and early years of the twentieth century.

Although displayed before, the "Rose of Sharon" quilts pieced by Mrs. Marian Wright Powers while studying music in New York City in the spring of 1917, were displayed along with the letters that related their construction and "trials" as reported home to husband Dr. Everett Powers.

In addition to the core exhibit, special mini-exhibits also were added throughout the year.

Reporting Back Home: Curtis Wright, Jr.'s Letters on the San Francisco Earthquake
In honor of the event's centennial, Curtis Wright and other Carthage investors started Pacific Spring Bed Company in Oakland, CA. Using Leggett & Platt patents, they manufactured and sold coil bed spring sets. Curtis' numerous letters home to the various members of the Wright and Powers families give a unique first-hand account of the earthquake and its effect on the entire metropolitan area of San Francisco and Oakland.

Harold Bell Wright & Mrs. Marian Wright Powers: Discussing Early Ozarks Tourism
This mini-display examined the limited correspondence between distant cousins as they discuss the impact of H.B.W.'s Shepherd of the Hills book on the early tourism industry of Branson, Missouri.

2005
Two Fashionable Ladies – Female Fashions & Accessories
from the Wright-Powers Family Collections

Looking at Carthage in 1905 — Birth Year of R. Marlin Perkins & Marian Louisa Powers

Exhibits USA traveling exhibit Cool Breezes
featuring fashionable fans of the 19th & 20th centuries and augmented with selections from the Powers Museum collections.

Rogers (AR) Historical Musuem traveling exhibit Here Comes the Bride: Weddings in America
Augmented with selections from the Powers Museum collections.

2004
Let's Play: Pastimes from the Past and
What's Cookin'? Two Centuries of American Foodways, both traveling exhibits from Rogers Historical Museum and both augmented with selections from the Powers Musuem collections.

Travels in the Interior of North America: The Maximilian-Bodmer Expedition* from the Joslyn Art Museum as arranged by the Mid-America Arts Alliance. Educational resources for Karl Bodmer and other artists who painted the American west.

Mapping the Historic Landscape: Lewis & Clark Across Missouri* from the Missouri State Archives.

* In honor of museum's hosting of the Missouri Humanities Council's Heartland Chautauqua (June 2004) honoring the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. Lesson plans for Lewis & Clark.

2003
Defense Begins at Home -- Carthage Home Front During World War II and special traveling exhibit: Produce for Victory: Home Front Posters of the 1940s
from the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Service & Museum on Main Street program, courtesy the Missouri Humanities Council. Lesson Plans available online for Produce for Victory (WW II Homefront in America)

Missouri Women of Exception
from the Missouri Women's Council
Click here to see some of the Carthage women featured in state exhibit.

2002
Missouri Mule
from the Missouri State Museum and augmented with information on local mule breeders and shows.

Ticket to the Past: First 25 Years of the Missouri State Fair
from the Missouri State Archives

Exploring Garden Transformations: 1900–2000
from the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Service; hosted by the Ozark Gateway Master Gardeners with special funding from the Helen S. Boylan Foundation in honor of the Missouri Master Gardeners State Convention hosted by Ozarks Gateway Master Gardeners.

2001
Mirror Images: Daguerre and the First Photographic Process
from the International Photography Hall of Fame with images from the Powers Museum Collection, Gift of Alice Light.

Bear's Paw: New Quilts from an Old Favorite from the Museum of the American Quilter's Society for Maple Leaf Festival.

Pillars of the State: A History of Missouri's State Capitols
from the Missouri State Archives augmented with information on the Carthage limestone industry and their push to have local limestone in the statehouse.

Kaleidoscope: New Quilts from an Old Favorite from the Museum of the American Quilter's Society for Maple Leaf Festival (1999).

November 1996 & 1998
Christmas through the Decades: 1890s—1990s
Wright Family Spider Web

1995 & 1996
Around the Square: Jasper County Courthouse and Its Neighbors in celebration of the courthouse centennial.

1991
Mirror of Fashion: Ladies Clothing in Carthage 1850–1950 along with smaller exhibits on Carthage in 1891 and Valentines of Yesterday

1990
No Ordinary Duty: Life at Home during the World Wars along with a holiday display "Special Days: Selections from the Powers Family Holiday Collections"

Circus Heralds from the Circus World Museum in honor of Maple Leaf Festival Circus.

1989
The Pursuit of Happiness: Leisure Activities in Carthage 1890–1930 with special mini-exhibits throughout the year featuring: Entertainment in Carthage, Toys, Puzzles & Games, Wish You Were Here (Postcards and Travel Souvenirs), Festive Tables, and Christmas 1885/1915/1930

1988
Out of Boxes, Trunks & Drawers: A Museum Collection is Discovered featuring selections from the founding collection from the Marian Powers Winchester Estate

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