The Active Historian

Hey, friend! Welcome back to another post. Today, I want to show you around the Heartland of America Museum in Weatherford, Oklahoma. Let’s get started!

About the Museum

There are 32 exhibits in the Heartland Museum along with 40 cabinet displays. The history in the exhibitions shows the progression of Weatherford throughout the twentieth century. Topics include military history, SWOSU history, a general store, beauty parlor, ghost towns, and so much more. Each section was dedicated to a single topic allowing you to explore it in depth.

This museum was founded and put together by a group of dedicated volunteers. Speaking of volunteers, the two sweetest ladies were working at the museum when I visited and they were so very kind!

Photos Inside the Museum

I have included a handful of photos below, but this doesn’t even cover a fraction of what’s actually on exhibition in this museum.

The wedding dress display was neat! It was interesting to see how styles have evolved over the years.

I have visited a lot of small local history museums across Oklahoma and this was my first time seeing a dairy processing exhibition. I thought this was cool because not many people get a chance to see something like this if you’re not from rural Oklahoma!

This bearskin coat below caught my eye. The history of the coat’s owner was even more interesting – Dr. Henry Schlichting was the country doctor. I have included a photo of the information card for you to read!

The photos that follow are an assortment of some of the various other exhibitions.

I love seeing all of the old cars and tractors in the local museums!

Outside of the museum were a handful of small historic buildings and a Vietnam-era Huey helicopter that has been restored. This helicopter flew in Vietnam in March 1967 with D Troop, First Squadron, Tenth Cavalry according to a news story done by KOCO 5.

Concluding Thoughts

I enjoyed stopping in the Heartland of American Museum while I was in Weatherford, Oklahoma! This museum was full of awesome local and county history. I hope you’ll pop in if you’re driving through town.

Happy traveling, friend! I’ll talk to ya soon 🙂

TRAVEL TIP: If you’re working on the Oklahoma Route 66 Passport – this museum is one of the stops! There are currently two other stops in Weatherford as well – the Stafford Air & Space Museum and Lucille’s Diner. If you’re following along with my Oklahoma Route 66 Passport journey you can see a highlight on my Instagram page!

Visit

1600 S. Frontage Rd.

Weatherford, OK 73096

Sources

Heartland of America Museum – website

Plaques in the museum

“Heartland of America Museum” – Travel OK website

Jason Burger. “Piece of Vietnam War history in Weatherford brings veterans together.” KOCO 5 News. July 2, 2022.