Rooted In Rural America

Connecting With Country Crossroads: Smithsonian traveling exhibit highlights changing landscape of rural America at Bosque Museum runs six weeks through Dec. 1

CLIFTON – Americans have relied on rural crossroads for generations. These places where people gather to exchange goods, services and culture and to engage in political and community discussions are an important part of our cultural fabric. Despite the massive economic and demographic impacts brought on by these changes, America’s small towns continue to creatively focus on new opportunities for growth and development.

Throughout the 19th Century, the majority of Americans lived in rural areas, living off the land, hunting and fishing, building their lives around livestock and crops dictated by the seasons. Since 1900, the percentage of Americans living in rural areas dropped from 60 percent to 17 percent. In Texas, that number is 15.3 percent.

The phrase “Rural America is a deceptively simple term for a remarkably diverse collection of places,” pops up in several publications from reports on rural America, cultural sites, sites for reimagining change, and agriculture and socio-economic sites. It also popped up in the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street exhibit “Crossroads: Change in Rural America” at Bosque Museum. The exhibition – made in cooperation with the Texas Historical Commission – examines the evolving landscape of rural America. It opened at the Bosque Museum on Oct. 12 and can be viewed through December 1.

Texas Historical Commission’s State Coordinator of the Texas Heritage Trails Program Teresa Caldwell, Community Heritage Development Division Linda Henderson of the, Museum Service Program Coordinator Laura Casey and Brazos Trail Region Executive Director Pamela Anderson were present at the official opening.

“Crossroads” explores how rural American communities changed and adapted in the 20th century. From sea to shining sea, the vast majority of the United States landscape remains rural with only 3.5 percent of the landmass considered urban. With its 1,002.5 square miles, and just about 19,000 people, Bosque County though is considered to be 100 percent rural with Farm to Market and Country Roads outnumbering the highways eight to one.

Bosque County has been expressly chosen by the Texas Historical Commission to host “Crossroads” as part of the Museum on Main Street program—a national/state/local partnership to bring exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations. Starting in St. Augustine Aug. 24, the exhibition will tour seven communities in Texas through August 2, 2025. Clifton is the exhibit’s second stop.

According to the Texas Historical Commission, Clifton and the museum are the perfect locations to delve into the story of rural America’s transformation. Also, Bosque County is part of the Brazos Trail and the Texas Lakes Trail; another crossroads.

From its origins as a bustling railroad hub in the late 1800s to its lively present, Clifton showcases the resilience and ingenuity highlighted in the Crossroads exhibit. And it is at the crossroads of many things – literally the crossroads of Highway 22, Highway 6, Highway 144 and Highway 174; at the crossroads between several main heritages – Norwegian, German and Anglo-Saxon; the Chisholm Trail’s Brazos River crossing at Kimball Bend; between ranching, farming and a bustling cultural center.

“‘Crossroads’ allows us to reflect on Bosque County’s history, present and future and we are excited to explore what the future may hold for our community,” said Bosque Museum’s Executive Director Erin Shields. “We want to convene conversations about what makes our community unique and have developed local exhibitions and public programs to complement the Smithsonian exhibition.”

“Facts and figures are fun,” Shields said in her welcome during the opening of the exhibit. “But I want to make people think and feel.”

Shields hopes visitors will feel a personal connection with the exhibit, and that it will make them think; think about why they enjoy living in a rural area; what Bosque County means to them. Words like controversy, modernization, inspiration, wonder, opportunity, liberty, preservation, partnership, sustainability and transformation trigger the visitor to think about their rural community, then, now and to the future.

And Shields also hopes visitors will share these thoughts at different places in the exhibit designed for that specifically – like the postcards asking questions “What change for good would you make in your town?” “What has your community lost that most matters to you?” “Name three things you would miss about your community if you had to leave?” “What does rural mean to me?” and “Why do I choose to live here?”

Love of the land, natural beauty, connecting with their heritage, the stars are bright in the Texas night, open spaces and no traffic, community spirit, Christian and traditional values still holding strong, persistence and commitment, family and personal relationships all come to mind when answering that last question.

“My sense of who I am is more affirmed,” Wisconsin historian Jerry Apps said. “Living close to the land does that for me.”

Others grew up in the countryside, yearning to leave. Some left only to return to raise their family in a less hectic rural environment. Some came back in retirement or during the COVID-19 pandemic to escape crowds in urban areas. Some wish to get back to the land and a simpler, more rooted way of life. What changes have they seen in their rural community?

Declaring the exhibit officially open, Trustee on the Museum Board of Directors Ed Rieser also asked “As you walk through the exhibit, think how our own rural landscape is evolving. Take time to write your thoughts and impressions.”

Encouraging visitors to participate by writing down their thoughts and experiences, the compact, information-rich exhibit, gives plenty of food for thought. With the exhibit running until Dec. 1, thankfully there is plenty of time to and think about your answers at home and revisit it.

Visitor to the exhibit Elizabeth Coleman, her sister and mother like to get together to visit museums and exhibits like these. She hails from another small Texas town, Haskell, and has family in Bosque County.

She particularly loved the interactive parts of the exhibit, as well as the way the photos stood out, as they helped process the amount of information.

The Crossroads exhibit with many interactive elements consists of six content sections:

Tracing Change. Is rural life endangered, thriving or just scraping by?
Creating Identity. Rural identity is deeply rooted in the land and profoundly shaped the American identity. Is a rural life as difficult or as romantic as it is portrayed?
Constant Change. Change has always shaped rural life. Does it create more resilient Americans?
Land – Sense of place, owning and using Land. Sustainability
Community – Diversity, gathering at the crossroads, Sustaining the community, Accelerated change after World War II
Persistence – innovation, revitalization and resurgence; loving the country life; preserving.
Managing Change. Change brings challenges – how to mesh interests of newcomers with the “old timers” views

Even though the photos are from all over the United States, all the sections will be highly recognizable to the visitors. The exhibit’s interactive elements encourages people to watch, listen, think, and talk about it.

Fifteen-year-old Wyatt Annen from Arlington had fun creating his own ideal Main Street, moving the different buildings around until it was perfect for him. His mother Shannon listened to sounds of rural America, as his father Matt wrote down his thoughts on rural America on a postcard provided by the exhibit’s mailbox.

After exploring the Crossroads exhibit, visitors can explore more local history with different initiatives and exhibits like :

– a Downtown Clifton Self-Guided Tour and discover downtown Clifton's architectural and business history through informative signs and an online guide.

– Crossroads: Bosque County Road Maps: Explore Bosque County’s art, agriculture, and culture with driving trails illustrated by local artist Kat Kennedy.

– Traveling Chisholm Trail Exhibit: Learn about the Chisholm Trail's history through photos and illustrations at Clifton's Historic Sale Barn.

– Vaquero Traveling Exhibit at the museum: Explore Texas ranching heritage with "The Vaquero," highlighting the contributions of Mestizos to modern cattle ranching.

Designed for small-town museums, libraries and cultural organizations, “Crossroads” will serve as a community meeting place for conversations about how rural America has changed. To that effect the museum is hosting “town evenings” inviting people from the different Bosque County towns to share their history, the joys and challenges of living rural, how change has impacted their community, and prompt discussion of goals for the future.

Thirty people came to the Cranfills Gap town evening last week. According to Bosque Museum docent Bryan Davis some came wearing school colors, and they laughed and reminisced about growing up in "The Gap" and what made it special. There were conversations about riding the school bus, which sometimes stopped at the drug store on the way home so kids could get an ice cream. There was talk about the old crank phone system operated by the beloved Schiller and listening in on the party line.

Gap natives Tom Henderson, Janice Bertelsen, Phyllis Rieser and John Hastings recalled happy childhoods growing up in Cranfills Gap, where life centered around home, school, and church. There was talk of the Norwegian influence in the community, and all laughed at the custom of preparing smelly lutefisk for holidays and it being an acquired taste. Folks who moved to Cranfills Gap later in life, such as Doug and Jan Kieta, Katelyn Robinson, Buck and Sidney Thomason, and others talked about what makes Gap special to them having chosen to live there. Two couples present had only recently moved to the area and are loving the small-town charm.

The Bosque Museum is dedicated to protect and preserve Bosque County’s historic and prehistoric resources for the use, education, enjoyment, and economic benefit of the public it serves. These stories and comments collected during the town meetings will be documented and archived by museum staff, preserving the county’s history.

Because of the collaboration with the Texas Historical Commission and the Texas Trail Regions, promotion of the exhibits is state-wide, and an influx of visitors to the area is anticipated.

“The area's fertile soil and abundant water from the Bosque River attracted early settlers, including Norwegian immigrants who established the largest Norwegian colony in the Southwest,” the THC press release states. “In 1997, the state legislature designated Clifton the ‘Norwegian Capital of Texas.’”

THC encourages visitors to immerse themselves in Clifton's heritage by exploring the Bosque Museum, the “Crossroads” home base. The museum houses artifacts from the area's Native American and Norwegian settlers. Additionally, the town's well-preserved Norse Historic District showcases the rural lifestyle of early Norwegian settlers. They also mention Clifton’s thriving arts scene, recognized as one of the nation's top 100 small art communities.

“Central to this vibrant culture is the Bosque Arts Center, a hub for visual and performing arts,” according to THC. “Public art initiatives and its hometown members of the prestigious Cowboy Artists of America make the town a dynamic destination for art enthusiasts.”

The exhibition is part of Museum on Main Street, a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation, and local host institutions. To learn more about “Crossroads” and other Museum on Main Street exhibitions, visit http://www.museumonmainstreet.org. Support for MoMS has been provided by the U.S. Congress and the Texas Historical Commission. Unlike other traveling exhibition programs at the Smithsonian, MoMs is unique in its focus on small, rural communities with populations less than 15,000. Like the THC Heritage Tourism Program, MoMS uses history as a starting point for community engagement.

The Bosque Museum is located at 301 South Avenue Q in Clifton, and the current open hours are Thursday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sundays from Noon-5 p.m.