Midgley Museum

The Midgley Museum is a city-owned museum located in the city of Enid, Oklahoma.[1][2]

Midgley Museum
Location1001 Sequoyah Drive
Enid, Oklahoma, United States
Coordinates36.3895°N 97.8905°W / 36.3895; -97.8905
Websitehttp://www.midgleymuseum.org/

The museum's exhibits include a large mineral and rock collection that features a 7,000-pound petrified stump and fluorescent rocks that must be viewed under a black light.

History

The items displayed in the museum were collected by the Midgley family that came to the United States from England in the 1870s.[3] Wheat and hay farmers, the Midgleys collected exotic rocks while traveling to sell their harvests.[3]

The family commissioned Texas stonemasons to construct a home from rocks they had excavated.[3] They donated their collections and the home as a museum to the city of Enid.[4]

Operation

The museum is operated by the Northwest Oklahoma Masonic Lodges.[5]

Exhibits

The house itself is a large part of the display, as it is made from the rocks and minerals the Midgleys collected over the years.[3] In the front yard, there is a 7,000-pound petrified tree stump found near Woodward, Oklahoma.[3] The fireplace is made from priceless fossil stone and a glass-encased gypsum selenite, the largest removed from Oklahoma's Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge.[3]

The entire mineral and rock collection includes more than 30 types of exotic rocks, fossil stones, crystal, agate, sandstone, and petrified wood.[6]

Black light room

A closet in the house is filled with fluorescent rocks on display under a black light.[6]

Trophy room

The trophy room includes a stuffed buffalo, Royal Canadian elk, and a moose, and javelinas.[6]

References
  1. "Midgeley Museum". Visit Enid. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  2. "Midgley Museum". Travel OK. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  3. "Midgley Museum" http://www.lasr.net/leisure/oklahoma/garfield/enid/att5.html, LASR.net - Leisure and Sports Review (accessed April 24, 2013)
  4. Midley Museum (The Rock House) "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2013-04-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) (accessed April 24, 2013)
  5. Midgley Museum - VisitEnid.org http://www.visitenid.org/visitors/things-to-do/cultural-heritage/m.directory/82/view/18 (accessed April 24, 2013)
  6. Midgley Museum www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/30152, RoadsideAmerica.com (accessed April 24, 2013)
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