Welcome to the Harlin!
The Harlin Museum is dedicated to the preservation of the Ozarks rich cultural heritage and to the patronage of our innovative modern local art scene.
We house items of cultural and historical interest significant to the area known as the Ozarks, which is located in the topographical region of the North American United States known as the Ozark Plateau. We also host a variety of competitive art shows, special historical exhibits, artisan workshops, and community events throughout the calendar year.
The Harlin Museum is located in West Plains, Missouri, a town in central southern Missouri known for its small-town charm, Historic Courthouse Square district, the nearby Ozark National Scenic Riverways, and the Mark Twain National Forest park system.
The museum’s collection includes:
- artifacts of the area’s early settlers including a buckboard wagon w/ original harnesses & saddles sold at the Aid’s Hardware on West Plains’ Historic Downtown Square,
- items significant to the area’s original Native American tribes
- military artifacts from WWI & the American Civil War; art depicting local skirmishes & photographs of local militia units
- objects that survived the mysterious & tragic West Plains Dance Hall Explosion of 1928 and original newspaper coverage of the event
- displays honoring area celebrities such as Missouri Sports Hall of Fame baseball player Preacher Roe, Country Music Hall of Fame’s singer/songwriter Porter Wagoner, and Grand Ole Opry star Jan Howard
- the complete works of internationally-renowned artist Lennis L. Broadfoot
The Harlin Museum also hosts a variety of art shows & competitive exhibitions throughout the calendar year:
- January 2019 – Textile & Quilt Show Competition: “Telling A Story; The History of Quilting”
- February 2019 – High School Art Show Competition
- March 2019 – Digital Art Show Competition: “Another World”
- April 2019 – Annual Spring Amateur Art Show Competition
- May 2019– Annual Photography Show Competition
- June 2019 – Ozarks Heritage Festival Exhibition: History of the Ozarks & the L.L. Broadfoot Collection
- July 2019 – Harlin’s Permanent Art Collection on Display
- August 2019 – Outdoor Life Show: Hunting, Fishing, & Fur Trapping as a Way of Life in the Ozarks
- September 2019 – Artistic Works of Lee Copen on Display
- October 2019 – Annual Fall Professional Art Show Competition
- November 2019 – Sculpture & 3-Dimensional Art Show Competition
- December 2019 – Model Railway Village & Ozark Railroad History Exhibition
Take a look at our MUSEUM NEWS page for the most recent goings-on at the museum. Stop by the museum to browse items in our museum gift shop, including unique art, books, jewelry, & stationary gifts or souvenirs. The gift shop area is located on the ground floor of the Hathcock Gallery. And, remember, we also sell art! Competition show pieces listed for sale benefit both the artist and the museum, which keeps a small percentage of it’s artists’ sales for museum maintenance and operation. The museum is a non-profit entity supported entirely by public donations and the sale of artist wares. If you would like to donate to the museum, please contact the docent desk at (417) 256-7801. Group tours are welcome; please contact the museum for more info.
#DiscoverYourOzarks #HarlinMuseum
You can also follow our Facebook Page for up-to-date museum info and art news at: https://www.facebook.com/HarlinMuseumWP/
The Hathcock Gallery addition was named after longtime museum board member & president, Roy Hathcock.
You can find the museum just off the historic downtown square on Worcester Ave., one of West Plains oldest streets.