Powers Museum sits across from Municipal Park on historic Route 66. The museum opened in 1986 with funds from an endowment from a member of the Powers Family. For 34 years, the museum has featured memorabilia from Carthage and been an asset to historians and genealogists in search of facts and treasures from the community.
The exhibit also featured items from Route 66 and the Jefferson Highway. Jefferson Highway takes travelers from Canada to Louisiana and dates back to 1910; Route 66 travels east to west across the United States from Chicago to the Santa Monica Pier. The corner of Central and Garrison is where Jefferson Highway meets Route 66 and puts Carthage on the map as the Crossroad of America during the automotive heydays of the 1930s through 1950s.
The museum closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic after arranging “Growing Up in Carthage,” a nostalgic exhibit featuring the experience of childhood in Carthage during the 20th Century. The 2019 exhibit commemorated the centennial of World War I with “Over Here and Over There: Carthage and Jasper County in World War I.” The exhibit included details and experiences of Dr. Everett Powers’ battle with the Spanish Flu Pandemic during war times.
The closing of the Powers Museum is certainly a loss for those who celebrate a time gone by in Carthage and visitors who are looking for an in-depth display of the community roots on Route 66 or the Jefferson Highway. Board President, Kavan Stull, reports that the Powers Museum board of directors voted to shut down in January. The original funds have been depleted and expenses for the building, insurance, part-time staff, and more are greater than the funding available. Carthage-specific artifacts and display cases are being transferred to other locations. The Joplin Museum Complex, the Carthage Civil War Museum, the Carthage and Neosho Libraries, and other non-profit museums will receive an assortment of items for continued display to the public,” explains Stull. The property is in negotiations for repurposing the building.
