CURRENT EXHIBITS

PERMANENT GALLERIES

Five galleries that survey the history of Rogers from pre-history to today.

  • Natural State explores the geography of Northwest Arkansas, how this natural landscape attracted early settlers, and then went on to shape our area's economy.
  • Road and Rail takes a look at the early days of urbanization of Northwest Arkansas and the establishment of Rogers in 1881 with the coming of the railroad.
  • America's Heartland features life in Rogers during the first half of the twentieth century, including some of the people, businesses, and organizations that made their home here.
  • White River examines life along the White River, including the rural communities that made their home on the river, William “Coin” Harvey and his Monte Ne resort town, and how the building of Beaver Dam and the creation of Beaver Lake impacted the landscape, growth, and economy of Northwest Arkansas.
  • Our Place features highlights of Rogers’ more recent past through objects and newspaper clippings from the 1960s to early 2000s. 

HAWKINS HOUSE

Take a step back in time with a guided tour of the museum's Hawkins House, a middle-class Victorian brick house built on the corner of Second and Cherry Streets in Rogers, Arkansas in 1895. Over a period of 79 years, three generations of the Hawkins family lived in the house. In 1980, the house was acquired by the City of Rogers and in 1982 became home to the Rogers Historical Museum. The house was restored in 1995 to reflect its original architectural design and furnished with circa 1900 period items from the museum’s collection.

Museum tours are provided upon request, Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.​ Museum visitors may inquire about the Hawkins House guided tour at the Hailey Building visitor services information desk or at the Key Wing Education Center entrance. 

VERA'S VICTORIAN GARDEN

Take a stroll through Vera's Victorian Garden, located in the Museum's south lawn at the corner of Second and Cherry Streets. This garden was created in 1989 in memory to Vera Key, the Museum's co-founder and first chair of the Museum Commission.

​In 2023, the garden was transformed into a Victorian flower garden as an educational extension of the historic 1895 Hawkins House and renamed Vera's Victorian Garden. 

CLICK HERE to learn more.

FIRST STREET DISPLAY

Take a stroll along this small street scene in the Key Wing Education Center classroom that replicates several businesses–​a dry goods store, barbershop and a bank–​that once lined First Street in Rogers.

WOODCARVERS OF NORTHWEST ARKANSAS CABINET

Located in the Hailey Building, this hand-carved display cabinet was made by members of the Woodcarvers of Northwest Arkansas in 2003. The cabinet features a series of woodblocks that use a combination of inlay, relief, and etching techniques to showcase locally inspired designs of nature and historical scenes. The wooden carved and turned items on display are changed every couple of months and are curated by the Woodcarvers of Northwest Arkansas and Stateline Woodturners.

​CLICK HERE to learn more.

THE CABOOSE

Located in Downtown Rogers at the corner of First and Cherry Streets in the Butterfly Park, this retired caboose from the Frisco railroad was gifted to the City of Rogers in 1981 in celebration of the city's centennial anniversary.

​Visit the caboose to experience a part of Rogers' railroad history for yourself. Visitors are welcome to climb the steps and turn the brake wheel, but the interior of the caboose is currently closed for maintenance.

TEMPORARY EXHIBITS

Rooted Visions
January 28, 2025 - April 12 1, 2025
The Rogers Historical Museum presents Rooted Visions, an ExhibitsUSA exhibition, showcasing 25 self taught Southern Black artists, who have redefined artistic expression with their innovative use of found objects and everyday materials. Through works by artists such as Mose Tolliver, Hawkins Bolden, and Bessie Harvey, the exhibition explores themes of resilience, storytelling, and the transformative power of creativity within Black communities in the American South. 

Rogers Historical Museum: Celebrating 50 Years!
​April 5, 2025 - January 10, 2026
The Rogers Historical Museum announces a special exhibit to mark our golden anniversary in 2025. 
 
The Rogers Historical Museum, a department of the City of Rogers, opened in 1975 with the purpose of preserving the area’s history. This special exhibit presents a scrapbook-style look at the museum’s growth and achievements of the past 50 years through photos, documents and objects from the museum archives.
 
The Rogers Historical Museum was created by local citizens who were concerned about the loss of their heritage. They recognized that Rogers was rapidly growing and changing and much of the tangible record of the city’s past was being destroyed. On June 18, 1974, Rogers City Councilwoman, Opal Beck, proposed the creation of a museum as the city’s American Bicentennial Heritage Project. The Rogers Historical Museum, located in the former 1905 Bank of Rogers Building, opened to the public on October 25, 1975.
 
Over the past fifty years, the Rogers Historical Museum has grown through community effort and hard work. What started as an endeavor to preserve the area’s heritage has blossomed into an institution that strives to preserve and share the history of Rogers and the surrounding area.

Ozark Quilts: Stitches in Time
May 3, 2025 - March 28, 2026​
Since the Rogers Historical Museum’s founding in 1975, many quilts have been gifted to the permanent collection and help the museum to preserve and tell the stories of our Ozark past. As part of the museum’s 50th anniversary celebration, this exhibit is a salute to one of our earliest major exhibits which featured Ozark-made quilts in the permanent collection.
 
This display showcases the return of some of the same Ozark quilts that made an appearance in that exhibit so many years ago, along with some newer acquisitions that are making their exhibition debut. There will also be quilts from the museum’s collection on display in the permanent galleries and in the 1895 Hawkins House. Explore all the different quilts on display throughout the museum by going on a scavenger hunt. From patchwork to crazy to appliqué, come view the beauty and variety of these quilts from our Ozark history.

FOR CHILDREN

Get your hands on history! The museum offers two hands-on spaces, The Attic and Children's Gallery, where children of all ages can play and explore objects from the past.

​**Adult supervision is required at all times in both play areas. **

THE ATTIC

Located in the Key Wing Education Center, The Attic is dedicated to educating through touch by allowing children to dress up, 'cook' on a vintage stove, use a vintage typewriter, and discover many more objects from the early 20th century.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Some of the vintage objects found in The Attic are timeworn and/or have fragile, small parts which make them susceptible to breaking. Even with careful handling, we understand that this is what happens when objects are used and enjoyed over and over again. Please let a museum staff member or volunteer know about any broken objects so they may be repaired or replaced.

CHILDREN'S GALLERY

The Children’s Gallery is a fun place where kids can play and explore historic Rogers landmarks. This space can be found in the Hailey Building exhibit galleries and includes a slide reminiscent of the old Rogers High School fire escape slide, a fully-stocked mid-century kitchen, a workshop filled with tools and wood-working projects, and a "Harris Baking Company" bakery.

COMMUNITY EXHIBITS

The Museum displays small exhibits at locations across Northwest Arkansas. Listed below are the exhibit names, locations and times when you can view each exhibit.
EARLY POULTRY INDUSTRY OF NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
Location: Adult Wellness Center (The Adult Wellness Center is open to members only)
Address: 2001 West Persimmon, Rogers AR
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.


ROGERS FIRE DEPARTMENT
Location: Center for Nonprofits at St. Mary's
Address: 1200 West Walnut, Rogers AR
Hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.


**EXHIBIT TEMPORARILY CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE**
Location: Rogers Public Library
Address: 711 S. Dixieland Road, Rogers AR
Hours: Monday - Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. & Friday - Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

​
LAND OF THE BIG RED APPLE
Location: Rogers Executive Airport
Address: Hwy 62 East, Airport Drive # 3

ONLINE EXHIBITS

Beaver Lake: Before and After
​
The Bentonville School History 1841 - 1921

Buried Dreams: "Coin" Harvey & Monte Ne

Early Poultry Industry of Northwest Arkansas

Elsie Mistie Sterling

From Overland Stage to Postal Truck: A History of the Mail Service in Rogers, Arkansas

Influential Women of Arkansas: From the Suffragettes to Today

Health Care in Benton County

Kruse's Gold Mine

Ladies of the Loom

​Living History Videos

Natural Resources of Northwest Arkansas

On Fields Far Away: Our Community During the Great War

Parades & Pageants: The Apple Blossom Festivals of the 1920s

Personal Computers: From the Early 1970s to the Late 1980s 

Rally Around the Flag: The Flags of the Battle of Pea Ridge
​
Rebels, Federals and Bushwhackers

Remembering Rogers
​

LET'S STAY IN TOUCH