Exhibit: Rogers Founding Families | May 10-November 6, 2021

Rogers was officially founded on June 6, 1881. In celebration of the 140th anniversary of our city in 2021, we invite you to come learn more about the families that contributed to the founding of Rogers and its early growth. This exhibit highlights some of the earliest families who settled in this area beginning in the 1830s through the early 20th century. On show at the Hailey Building in the Trammel Gallery.

Get a chance to view early Rogers history like never before. Come explore fun items from Rogers Founding Families including original tools, medicine bottles, doctors instruments, a pocket watch, post cards, a Knights Templar Uniform and even a cork sizer. Learn the fascinating history behind families such as the Millers who, after opening a simple dry goods store in 1881, had family members that went on to become a mayor, city treasurer and workers on the Frisco
Railroad.

Exhibit: Rogers Through the Eye of the Lens: 140 Years of History in Photographs | Opens May 10, 2021

​Discover 140 years of Rogers' history as seen through the camera lenses of the people who experienced that history first-hand. This timeline exhibit displays photographs highlighting people, events and places from Rogers' beginning when the first train arrived at the Frisco Depot on May 10, 1881 (the unofficial birthday of Rogers) and ending with images of today. Permanently on show at the Museum's Key Wing in the Kathleen Dickerson Classroom.

The final photograph depicting Rogers in 2021 will be the winner of the 2021 Digital Photo Contest, Rogers Life in 2021.

Event: Rogers 140th Birthday Celebration | Monday, May 10, 2021

Thousands of spectators came from all around Northwest Arkansas to the Rogers Frisco depot on May 10, 1881 to witness the first train roll into town. Although the City of Rogers was incorporated a month later on June 6, this historical date is traditionally celebrated as the birthday of Rogers. We’ll be celebrating this year’s 140th birthday at the museum on May 10 with the opening of two new exhibits, Rogers Founding Families and Rogers Through the Eye of the Lens. Come by between 1-4 p.m. to enjoy a slice of cake courtesy of the Rogers Museum Foundation.
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Event: Founders Day | Saturday, June 5, 2021

Come celebrate Rogers 140th anniversary with us! Join us on Saturday, June 5 as we celebrate this milestone year in Rogers history! There will be many fun, family-friendly activities happening at the Museum from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., all-day around Downtown Rogers, and a time capsule ceremony at the new Butterfield Stage at the Railyard Park at 2 p.m.​ Click here for more information.

2021 Digital Photo Contest: ​Rogers Life in 2021

Rogers Life in 2021 Digital Photo Contest winning photo by Gabrielle Campbell

We asked to see Rogers as it is today through your lens! The Rogers Historical Museum sponsored a digital photograph contest, “Rogers Life in 2021”. 
 
Members of the public were invited to enter by submitting up to three original photographs, taken within the Rogers city limits since January 1, 2021, capturing what life in Rogers is like in 2021.

Congratulations Gabrielle Campbell for winning our digital photo contest. It features Campbell standing alone inside the Rogers Towne Cinema lobby and social distancing stickers on the floor, a tell-tale sign of what the current “normal” looks like in our pandemic related world today. The photo was submitted with the following caption: “Movie Theaters in 2021 - The new reality of going to the movie theaters. While movies were limited in showing, theaters rented out their big screens for video game nights. This was the lobby of the Rogers Towne Cinema right before we went inside.”​
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The winning photograph will be included in the new Rogers Historical Museum permanent timeline exhibit, Rogers Through the Eye of the Lens: 140 Years of History in Photographs and also placed inside the Rogers 140th Anniversary Time Capsule.

Rogers 140th Time Capsule Written Reflections

Thanks to everyone who submitted a written reflection.  You're now a part of Rogers history!

Rogers is celebrating its 140th anniversary in 2021. To commemorate this event, the Rogers Historical Museum, in partnership with the City of Rogers, created a time capsule.
 
We invited members of our community to share a short, written reflection of what living in Rogers was like to them in 2021. While a broad range of information about world events will be well documented in newspapers and other media, personal insights to what life was like for people in Rogers in 2021 won’t be as readily available.

​All approved submitted entries will be printed and bound in a book to go into the time capsule. Some of the other items to be included in the time capsule will be photos, newspaper articles, a covid face mask, a City of Rogers flag, and a Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce business directory.
 
The time capsule ceremony will take place at the newly completed Railyard Park on Saturday, June 5 at 2 p.m. during the Founders Day event. The time capsule is to be opened in 2081 for the Rogers Bicentennial celebration.

Quilt Quest Contest 2021

The Rogers Historical Museum and the Northwest Arkansas Modern Quilt Guild were on a quest to find the oldest quilt in Northwest Arkansas. 

Thanks to all who submitted a quilt! 
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Finalist entries will be selected from the submissions and will be contacted for an invitation to bring their quilt(s) to the Rogers Historical Museum on Saturday, June 5, 2021 for final judging. The winning entry will be given an official authenticity certificate to help document the quilt’s history which will add to its value and increase its preservation possibilities in the future.
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