Each year the Benton County Museum rotates exhibits and adds new items that have been donated and this year, one of the exhibits that curators and volunteers are busy expanding and are excited about is the Gunstock Factories display.
This will be a permanent exhibit and the theme will be ''WARSAW-GUNSTOCK CAPITOL OF THE WORLD''. This title was given to Warsaw by the media of the firearms industry around 1977. Not only was the manufacturing of gunstocks important to the firearms industry, but it was also very important to the stability and growth of Benton County. Fajen and Bishop factories were the top employers for the residents around Warsaw for many years.
There are a few items, in particular, that museum curators are looking for to add to this exhibit. Those items include pieces that local gunstock factories donated to the City of Warsaw to make flower boxes on Main Street and a hall tree made with gunstock bases. If anyone has one of these items, the museum would love to have them for their exhibit. Donations need to be considered permanent. The museum will not accept items ''on loan'' since the exhibit will be permanent.
If anyone has any of the above mentioned items, or other items they would like to donate, representatives will be at the museum office from 8:00 AM until 4:00 PM on February 17. Any donor may also call the museum by phone at (660) 438-2304 and leave a message at any time, but please be patient for a reply as the museum is currently closed. Volunteers, however, do check phone messages every few days. Any items will be considered.
The Benton County Museum’s theme for the main floor exhibit throughout the 2024 season is “Fashion through the 20th Century”. Visitors will be shown changes in clothing (under and outerwear) as the decades progress toward the year 2000. In addition, there will be uniforms on display from all war era. The Benton County Museum is fortunate to have many donations from local veterans, past and present. All of our clothing and exhibits throughout the museum have been donated or loaned by Benton County residents or their descendants. Come see how society's manner of dress has evolved from 1900-2000!
