Crossroads: A Change in Rural America Response Cards 2022

Access and use

Location of collection:
Thomas Balch Library
Thomas Balch Library
208 West Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Alexandra S. Gressitt
Phone: (703) 737-7195
Fax: (703) 737-7195

Summary

Creator:
The Westmorland Davis Memorial Foundation
Abstract:
Morven Park hosted a Smithsonian traveling exhibit program called Museums on Mainstreet in 2022. The exhibit entitled, Crossroads: A Change in Rural America, explores America's agrarian past and how in recent years the population has shifted from about living in rural areas. This collection consists of of sixty eight public response cards from Smithsonian traveling exhibit.
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of of sixty eight response cards from a Smithsonian traveling exhibit entitled, Crossroads: A Change in Rural America hosted by Morven Park in 2022. Cards are arranged by the questions reponded to. Questions include: " Describe your town in ten years. Who is here and why? If you were granted one wish, what change for good would you make in your town? If you were mayor, what would you do? What has your community lost that most matters to you and why? Name three things you would miss about this community if you had to leave?

Biographical / historical:

Morven Park hosted a Smithsonian traveling exhibit program called Museums on Mainstreet in 2022. The exhibit entitled, Crossroads: A Change in Rural America, explores America's agrarian past and how in recent years the population has shifted from about 40% living in rural areas in 1900 to less than 18% in 2010. The exhibit offers small towns a chance to look at their own paths to highlight the changes that affected their fortunes over the past century. The goal is to prompt discussions about what happened when America's rural population became a minority of the country's population and the ripple effects that occurred. The exhibit was housed in Morven Park's Winmill Carriage Museum and visitors were allowed to roam through the exhibit at no charge. The Smithsonian provided postcards with prompts on them to allow the visitor to reflect on their own community and the challenges it faces presently. The exhibit ran from 22 April 2022, to 13 June 2022.

Acquisition information:
The Westmorland Davis Memorial Foundation
Arrangement:

Box: folder