Press Release
August 16, 2018
Contact: Diana Simon
Cherokee Strip Museum, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 580-336-2405
csmuseum@okhistory.org
www.cherokee-strip-museum.org
Cherokee Strip Museum Blacksmith Shop Grand Opening and Museum Reopening on September 7 in Perry
PERRY, Okla. — The Cherokee Strip Museum in Perry, Okla., is pleased to announce the grand opening of its new blacksmith shop and the grand reopening of the recently renovated main museum on Friday, September 7, from 1 to 6 p.m. Museum admission is free on this date.
The new blacksmith shop consists of a 24-by-30-foot display area with restrooms and a 36-by-30-foot live demonstration area. The renovated museum building boasts new exhibit cases, and a new gallery room where local and regional artists will display their art. There is also a new, hands-on farmyard exhibit for children and a large gift shop.
To celebrate the new blacksmith shop, there will be live blacksmithing demonstrations. Inside the renovated museum building, the new gallery room will feature the work of photographer Teri Garvie James.
The museum complex sits on five acres and consists of five buildings: the main museum building, the blacksmith shop, a homestead-style house, a large implement building and Rose Hill School, an original one-room schoolhouse. Other outdoor exhibits include an old jailhouse, an antique threshing machine, an antique sorghum mill and a flying jenny merry-go-round for the kids. All of the exhibits are intended to portray life from the 1893 Cherokee Outlet Land Run through the 1930s.
During the school year, Rose Hill School conducts “A Day at Rose Hill School” for third- and fourth-grade students from across Oklahoma. The schoolmarm is attired in period clothing and the students are encouraged to do so as well. They do real schoolwork much as it was done around 1910. The students are escorted from the main museum building across the “Time Bridge”—traveling back to the year 1910 as they enter the schoolhouse. Classes are booked a full year in advance. The year 2018 is the 30th anniversary of Rose Hill School classes.
Additional information about the Cherokee Strip Museum and Rose Hill School can be found at www.cherokee-strip-museum.org and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Cherokee-Strip-Museum-134452569935868/. The Cherokee Strip Museum complex is located at 2617 W. Fir St., approximately one-quarter mile east of I-35 from Exit 186 toward Perry. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Cherokee Strip Museum is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
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