Texas Historical Commission welcomes Smithsonian exhibit to Clifton

A new exhibit is coming to Clifton, Texas, next month

The Texas Historical Commission has partnered with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and will bring the institute's Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program to Clifton this fall.

Clifton, located approximately 35 miles northwest of Waco, is the second of seven stops in Texas for the traveling exhibit. It will host the program from Oct. 12 to Dec. 1.

The exhibit is currently on display in San Augustine.

The Texas Historical Commission selected Clifton and six other towns in the state to host the MoMS, which brings exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations. The traveling exhibit tour usually last about 10 months, stopping at seven communities all across the state for six weeks each.

The MoMS exhibits are normally around 500 to 800 square feet in size and include interactive components as well as audio and video experiences. Each exhibit covers a single topic of broad national interest and is designed to engage a wide range of communities and capture the feel of life in small towns in America.

The exhibit, “Crossroads: Change in Rural America,” will be housed at the Bosque Museum, 301 S. Avenue Q, in Clifton.
It will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Designed for small-town museums, “Crossroads” will foster conversations about how rural America has changed.
“Crossroads” explores how rural American communities changed in the 20th century.

Much 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 has dropped from 60% to 17%. The exhibition looks at that remarkable societal change and how rural Americans responded.

Museum officials are planning a ceremony to kick off the exhibit at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 12. The event is expected to include a ribbon-dropping and reading of a proclamation.

Local and county elected officials are expected to attend, and members of the museum’s board of trustees are scheduled to give remarks. A coffee and cookie bar will be inside the museum until the public opening at 10 a.m.

General admission tickets are $5. Museum members and children 10 and under are free. Free parking is available in several locations surrounding the museum.

For more information about the exhibit, you can visit: https://thc.texas.gov/preserve/tourism-and-economic-development/museum-main-street