Exhibit at West Overton Village wins national award
Courtesy of West Overton Museum
This milling display is part of the West Overton Museum exhibition 鈥淔orging Ahead and Falling Behind: Industrial Growth in a Rural Community.鈥�
Courtesy of West Overton Museum
A general store is displayed in the exhibition 鈥淔orging Ahead and Falling Behind: Industrial Growth in a Rural Community.鈥�
Courtesy of West Overton Museum
A restored mine car is part of the exhibition 鈥淔orging Ahead and Falling Behind: Industrial Growth in a Rural Community鈥� at West Overton Museum.
West Overton Village in Scottdale won a national award for its exhibition 鈥淔orging Ahead and Falling Behind: Industrial Growth in a Rural Community.鈥�
The nonprofit historic site and museum was honored with an Award of Excellence, presented by the American Association for State and Local History, is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation of state and local history.
鈥淔orging Ahead and Falling Behind: Industrial Growth in a Rural Community鈥� follows the lives of eight people of 19th century West Overton, and how industrialization affected their lives. The exhibition highlights the pros and cons of industrialization and how impact differed by socioeconomic status. This was completed with real examples such as by contrasting the efficiency of the Overholt company鈥檚 new 1862 reaping machine (forging ahead) with that same progress costing the jobs of laborers (falling behind). Because we too live in a period of rapid change, visitors encounter 鈥済uiding questions鈥� inviting them to draw connections between the lives of those workers and their lives today.
In each section of the exhibition, visitors are introduced to individuals who worked as farmers, housekeepers, millers, distillers, coopers, weavers, store owners, and coal miners. The exhibition pieces together glimpses into their lives using diverse sources ranging from censuses to historic ledgers. The careers, wages, and shopping habits gathered from those sources make possible comparisons between owners and workers and between men and women. Visitors discover these stories through artifacts, images, interactive elements like a historic fanning mill and washing machine, and immersive elements like the grain bin and recreated general store.
Opened in June 2022, the exhibition was a milestone in West Overton鈥檚 broader effort to update the museum. Work is underway on the museum鈥檚 second floor to include new exhibitions, a classroom, and other experiences to engage visitors with history.
The AASLH awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States.