The Active Historian

Hey, friend! Welcome back to another post. Today, I want to show you around the Pottawatomie County Museum in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

I visited this museum once a long time ago when I was in junior high. I don’t remember going inside the actual building, but I know we walked around the buildings outside and looked at the old Santa Fe Depot. It was cool to go back and see that they’ve moved all exhibits from the Depot to a new building.

Let me show you around!

Museum History

The Pottawatomie County Museum is located in the Santa Fe Depot. It was built in 1904 and was an operational depot until 1973.

In June 1974, the Santa Fe Depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

In January 1982, an open house was held before the Santa Fe Depot was officially opened as a museum to house the history of Shawnee and Pottawatomie County.

On May 30, 1982, the museum opened to the public!

In May 2004, the museum celebrated the Centennial of the Santa Fe Depot opening.

*You can read more about the history of Pottawatomie County on the historical society’s website.

Photos Inside the Museum

There is a lot of cool stuff in this museum and the items included below are just a handful of things that caught my eye!

I loved the miniature models of Shawnee and the museum had two of them. The first one on the left is in the children’s area and has several operating trains that go around the track. The second one is inside the gallery space and shows different buildings around town. There are QR codes with more information about some of the buildings on this model.

World’s Largest Bib Overalls

Did you know the world’s largest bib overalls are kept at the Pottawatomie County Museum in Shawnee, Oklahoma?! I had no idea and was shocked with this find! The Shawnee Garment Manufacturing Company created these overalls in October 2002 to celebrate the business’s 100th year of making overalls! 

The measurements on the overalls are:
17.3 ft (5.27 m) long
14.9 ft (4.54 m) waist
8 in buttons

WPA Shovel

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was founded during the New Deal era. The WPA employed people across the United States on projects that would improve public life. These projects included buildings, parks, airports, bridges, and more.

I have traveled around quite a bit of Oklahoma and have seen several WPA projects. Many of the buildings have been updated and are still in use today.

The shovel below was used to build WPA projects. This was an interesting object for me because I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a WPA shovel before.

1908 Tornado Photos

The photo series below shows the formation of a tornado in 1908 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. I found this photo series fascinating and want to know more about the camera the photographer used.

“Buddy” the Bear

This 9′ 8″ bear greets you as you enter the main gallery space, you literally can’t miss it. Wilson Baptist got this bear in 1967 in Port Heiden, Alaska. The bear was displayed in the family’s hardware store for years in the front windows. Sun exposure and light damage caused the fur to turn white after many years as a result the fur was dyed black in 2021.

Model Horses

The Clydesdale horses were carved by Freeman Smith. The wooden horses on the right were created by Theresa Shahan.

Tractors & John Deere Models

There were easily over a hundred John Deere models on display in the back corner. I have never seen so many John Deere models in one place! It was kinda neat.

Cars

There are fours cars currently on exhibition in the Pottawatomie County Museum. Those cars include: 1911 Ford Model A, 1917 Stanley Steamer, 1917 Ford Model T, and a 1926 Ford Model T.

Gordon Cooper

There were a couple of cases dedicated to Gordon Cooper and his legacy!

Famous Athletes

Several famous athletes call Shawnee home and reading their stories was fascinating. I learned that Harold Cagle graduated from Shawnee and attended Oklahoma Baptist University! He competed at the 1936 Olympics the same year as Jesses Owens.

Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts

There was a case dedicate to Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts respectively. As someone who participated in Girl Scouts for a couple of years growing up, I always find it interesting to see which uniforms they have on exhibition.

Fallout Shelter Sign

I’ve seen Fallout Shelter signs in other museums and still on display in places like the Oklahoma State University campus. What caught my eye here was the brochure along with the sign.

Sonic

Sonic has a history in Shawnee and seeing the old menus was neat. Now, I think I need to go grab a slushee and tater tots!

“Don’t Spit on Sidewalk” Brick

This brick was sitting on top of a display case. It reads, “Don’t spit on sidewalk” and I chuckled and went look for the object tag needing to know more immediately. These bricks were no laughing matter though. They were placed in the sidewalk as a warning trying to stop the spread of tuberculosis.

Spurs

I’m always looking for the Western tack that museums have on exhibition. The spurs in this case were so cool!

Photos, Maps, & Posters

All throughout the museum there are posters, maps, stories, photos, certificates, plaques, and more lining the walls. The stories told in this museum cover a wide range of topics and they don’t shy away from difficult histories.

Gallery at the Top of Each Room

This museum makes use of all the space available to them. There are shelves around the top of the gallery spaces where more items are on exhibition. They also make use of the space above their offices as shown below. Make sure to look up when visiting this museum!

Dr. John Wesley Raley

Dr. John Wesley Raley was a prominent member of the Oklahoma Baptist University (OkBU) staff. This photo was on exhibition in the Pottawatomie County Museum and since I was in town I decided to swing through OkBU’s campus and take a picture of Raley Chapel for you to see. The chapel is currently undergoing updates after the campus was hit by a tornado a couple of years ago.

Outside the Museum

There are a handful of buildings and train cars outside of the museum. Most notably, the first home built in Shawnee is on the property and the 1904 Santa Fe Depot are both here.

Henry and Etta Ray Beard’s Cabin

There is a miniature model of the Beard’s home inside the museum with the following description:

“On September 22, 1891, 22 year old Etta Ray, stepped across the starting line and drove in her stake to become the first claimant in Co. B, OK Territory. She cut down a tree, “proving up” the site, now in the SE corner of Kickapoo and Highland. She and her father, Philip Ray, began building a cabin then she and Lola Beard, her sister-in-law to-be, went to OKC to register their claims. In 1889 her family made the “run” onto land that became OKC and got a claim. She met store owner Henry Beard and learned land to the east was being opened. Henry stayed behind as his brother and sister accompanied Etta and all got claims. Six weeks later, Etta Ray and Henry Beard married and settled in the cabin. Later they sold or donated much of their 160 acre claim for a park, townsite and to the railroads. Henry was Shawnee’s first mayor and Etta the first postmistress. Henry worked with others to develop towns in Indian Territory. In 1909 the couple moved to Sapulpa.”

Below are photos of Henry and Etta Ray Beard’s cabin that stands outside the museum. It was the first house built in Shawnee in 1891.

Shawnee Horse Trough

This marble trough stands on the grounds of the museum complex. The plaque reads:

“The National Humane Alliance of Philadelphia donated this marble trough to the City of Shawnee, arriving May 6, 1907. It was placed on Bell Street between Main and Ninth. In the 1930s, moved to Seventh street between Bell and Union. In the 1970s, it was moved to Woodland Park behind the old Carnegie Library. In 1999 the City of Shawnee moved it to the grounds of the Santa Fe Depot Museum. The move was funded by the Cleo L. Craig Foundation.”

Santa Fe Depot

The 1904 Santa Fe Depot also is a part of the museum. This structure is currently closed and waiting for crucial structural updates to make the building safe. There are plans to turn this building into a train museum in the future.

Concluding Thoughts

I enjoyed visiting the Pottawatomie County Museum in Shawnee. I spent a lot of time in Shawnee during high school while I was club swimming in the summers. I spent countless hours in the pool swimming laps and driving around town. It was nice to visit and drive around for the first time in over a decade. Things have been updated, but not much has changed and it was nice to see the town again.

I hope you’ll visit this museum and drive around town. Shawnee has such a rich history and many of the old buildings have been updated and are still in use today.

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

Visit

207 N. Minnesota Avenue

Shawnee, OK 74801

Sources

Pottawatomie County Museum – website

Pottawatomie County Museum & Historical Society – brochure

Plaques in the museum