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Photos & Exhibits
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We are proud to offer visitors a wide array of exhibits where you can see many historic objects and photographs from Nodaway County. To get a taste of what we have available, please take a look at the slideshow below and the list of sample exhibits on display.
Please note that our exhibits change regularly, so everything listed here might not be on display when you visit us.​
Historic Photographs
If you enjoy the images below, you will find even more in these two books, available for purchase at the museum for $20.
Inside the store
Making deliveries
View of downtown Maryville
Inside the store
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Black History of Nodaway County
Community Celebrations: Past & Present
Military History through the Years
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Women's Fight for the Vote
Native American Heritage
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History of Northwest Missouri State Univ.
Railroading in Nodaway County
Life in Stitches: Quilt Exhibit
Agricultural Heritage
Horse Race & Breeding in the County
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Featured Exhibits
Stairway of Stars
The NCHS Stairway of Stars recognizes notable people from Nodaway County who have achieved international or national success. Honorees come from the early days of county history into the present day. Learn more about our honorees and the important work they have done.
Virtual Exhibits
These virtual exhibits were designed as a part of temporary and permanent exhibits on display at the museum. They provide additional information on the topics and allow you to continue to enjoy our exhibits and learn about that history even after the exhibits change. Click on the exhibit titles to get to each site.
Explore three of the roles that women have played in Nodaway County: homesteaders, college students, and suffragettes. This website includes recipes to learn how to make lye soap and beeswax candles, just like early farm wives did. You can compare the uniforms and sports that some women played while attendeding Northwest, and you can watch a little piece of American history when you see a video of the 1913 suffragette parade in Washington, D.C., which featured a Maryville band!
Are you interested in the necessity of food and how it was prepared and preserved? Did you know that food also played a role in the culture of rural areas? This exhibit looks at all of this from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Come to the Caleb Burns House at the museum to see a real 19th century kitchen and to learn more about early cooking and preserving tools.
Early medical practices and home remedies fascinate many of us today. This exhibit looks at how rural medicine developed in Nodaway County and highlights the development of St. Francis Hospital in Maryville and the now forgotten mineral springs in Burlington Junction.
Learn about how children played and worked on farms and in rural areas. This exhibit also features many historic images of children and discusses the hardships that these children could face.
Crime in the County
This portal provides access to online exhibits that present the complicated history of some of the crime and murders that have taken place in Nodaway County. Learn more about Dr. Talbott in 1881 and Ken Rex McElroy in 1981.
Click on this portal to access information about sport history in Nodaway County. Learn about our 2018 travelling Smithsonian exhibit "Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America" and see photos from local school and communities, plus a photo feature about Northwest Missouri State University.
Nodaway County contains some of the richest soil in the state of Missouri.
Livestock and crops have both been important here. Horses, mules, and bovine were used to work the fields, and farmers raised other animals for additional income and food sources. This exhibit looks at this history, along with the crops grown here. It also includes some information about the role of the railroad to move crops to market and about the interesting history of the poor farm, established to help struggling residents.
Residents of Nodaway County have attended the fairs and celebrations for many years. Some of these events still take place while others do not. This exhibit looks at some of each, including the County Fair, Pickering Horse Show, the Hopkins Picnic, Chautauqua events, and the Emancipation Day celebration. Learn more about each celebration, look at a photo gallery, and share your memories of past celebrations.
Learn about where rural schools were located in Nodaway County, the subjects they taught, and the people who attended them and taught at them. If this gets you interested, come to the museum to experience a real one-room schoolhouse!
African American Life
Two virtual exhibits highlight several aspects of African American life in Nodaway County. One examines slavery in the county. The other will examine the lynching of Raymond Gunn.
This virtual exhibit explains the experience of Native Americans in Nodaway County, from the past into the present day. Highlighted tribes include the Missouria, Sac and Fox, and Ioway.
Click on this portal to access our online exhibits about military history in Nodaway County. Topics include the Civil War, Pearl Harbor, the home front during WWI and WWII, captured enemy items from WWII, the Vietnam War, the recent wars in the Middle East, the different patches and insignia, the changes in uniforms over time, and stories about the people behind some of the uniforms in our collection.
Exhibit coming soon!
Learn more about religious history in Nodaway County, including the Sisters of St. Francis in Maryville and the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.
Exhibit coming soon!
Explore the various community and social organizations that have existed in the county throughout its history. Featured groups include the Masons and the Daughters of the American Revolution.
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