Museum - Exhibits
Visitors can explore the history of the Southwestern Michigan College district (Cass County and Keeler and Hamilton townships) in the Museum’s four exhibit galleries. Exhibits feature hundreds of local history artifacts and interactive exhibits, such as a model railroad set and climbing wall. The “permanent” exhibits are constantly changing, so plan to visit often to see the changes.
This is the last gallery to undergo the renovation to meet the Museum’s mission which emphasizes local history adopted in 2006, said Steve Arseneau, museum director. “While the other exhibits examine historically the hard work people from the area did and the industries in which they toiled, we decided to make this gallery about the fun people had after hours,” Arseneau said. “Each gallery has a standout feature and this one will have a beautiful re-creation of the Beckwith Theater arch and we will exhibit a set of the heads from the building – like those found in the SMC pillars, without the weather wear of the past twenty years.”
"The Lure of Leisure"
The Lure of Leisure: Lakes, Sports and Theaters features hundreds of never-before-seen artifacts and traces over one hundred years of recreation and entertainment in the College District—from fairs and theaters to music and fire departments.
Visitors will see exhibits with rare artifacts from the Beckwith Theater, fire department pieces including a fire hose cart from Round Oak, old baseball uniforms and other great artifacts. The miniature Beckwith theater has 1930s and 1940s video of Dowagiac and Cassopolis. Also included is an interactive fishing hole exhibit in which visitors can catch "fish" typical of the area’s lakes. A third interactive will have visitors pumping a circa 1860s-style hand-pump fire engine to see how much pressure they can create that would determine how far water would shoot from a hose.
"Dowagiac: Fifty Years of Growth"
All aboard the SMC Express as the Museum transports visitors to Dowagiac as it appeared in 1870 and 1920 in the permanent exhibit Dowagiac: Fifty Years of Growth. Done in HO scale (1:87.1), this model railroad set accurately depicts downtown Dowagiac so visitors can see how the city grew over the fifty years as Dowagiac grew from pioneer town to industrial small city. The changes are there to be seen in this two-sided railroad set featuring two trains-- visit Railroads, Mills and Drills to ride the rails!
"Small Town, Big World: Locals Who Made History"
Every town has one—the person who left town to make an imprint on the world. The College District has many hometown heroes who have gone onto influence the world and the exhibit Small Town, Big World: Locals Who Made History celebrates some of these individuals’ achievements. The exhibit also includes area men and women who answered the nation’s call to duty during wartime. Some of those featured include:
- Leigh Wade piloted one of the airplanes in the first Around the World Flight in 1924
- Edward Lowe made life easier for cat owners with his invention, Kitty Litter
- Thomas Shelhamer created some of the finest rifles of the 20th century
- Charles Smith marketed his Smith Hoist to construction people across the globe
- Captain Iven C. Kincheloe broke the altitude record as a test pilot in 1956
- James Heddon revolutionized the fishing industry with his lures
- Eleanor Colby’s art delighting thousands across the country
- Webb Miller wrote dispatches from across the world for the United Press
"Beckwith’s Round Oak Stove Works"
When Philo D. Beckwith moved to Dowagiac in 1854, he did not know that his business venture would influence the town more than any other in its history. Find out how his Round Oak Stove Company’s successes and failures influenced the history of Dowagiac in the permanent exhibit, Beckwith’s Round Oak Stove Works. The exhibit features over twenty stoves and hundreds of rare artifacts that help tell the Round Oak story.
"Railroads, Mills and Drills"
Explore the early history of the College District in the exhibit, Railroads, Mills and Drills. The exhibit explores the history of the Potawatomi Indians, the first white settlers, the establishment of villages along railroad lines, the Underground Railroad, and takes visitors to the first major manufacturing in the College District—P.D. Beckwith’s roller grain drill. Included in the exhibit are several interactive displays, including a Underground Railroad safe house with a hidden room, working mill model and a model railroad set (see Dowagiac: Fifty Years of History). Visit the Museum to see what shaped the area’s development!
