Farm & Ranch Museum: Elk City, OK

Unscheduled and unplanned, that describes our road trip stop in Elk City, Oklahoma. We arrived on a Saturday evening after 5 PM, too late to visit the attractions or so we thought. Then, we discovered that many of the local museum exhibits were outside with no restrictions to browse.

The Farm & Ranch Museum celebrates Western Oklahoma’s agricultural heritage. Although the bright red barn housing the indoor exhibits was locked, we enjoyed the exterior display. Antique windmills rotated in the evening wind. Pioneer farm equipment set in rows in the grassy yard. And, a spherical sculpture made from horse shoes caught my eye.

Across the street, Old Town Museum Complex was a sprawling turn-of-the-century town site. We walked on paths around the chapel, hotel, and opera house. We peaked in the windows of early-day Elk City business replicas like the Drug Store, Trading Post, and General Mercantile. I lounged on a bench outside the old town saloon. I posed for photos beside a giant sized Kachina Doll. And, inside the old school house, I saw an assortment of old rubber stamps like the ones my Dad had as a young boy in the 1920s.

Ed and I thought we might return on Sunday to see the inside exhibits, but passed when we learned that Sunday hours begin at 2 PM, too late in the day to tour then travel more miles. We’d be content to have enjoyed our browsing the historic exhibits after hours.

April 18, 2009

Farm & Ranch Museum

Old Town Museum Complex

Route 66 & Pioneer Road

Elk City, OK

580-225-6266