The Chisholm Trail Heritage Center is completing its 20th year anniversary as it ends 2018 and several great exhibits and events are planned for the holiday season and looking forward to 2019.
Coming in mid-October are two major exhibits: Tiger Art: The Legacy Lives on, and American Farmer. These will be available for visitors until January 6, 2019. Also, the Heritage Center is celebrating its fourth annual Chisholm Trail Cowboy Poetry Gathering in November.
It continues to be a top Oklahoma attraction. It was recently named an Official Best of Oklahoma – Best Heritage Attraction site; and continues its status as a True West Magazine Top 10 Western Museum and travel destination, The Chisholm Trail Heritage Center is the place to have fun and explore history! Put on a cowboy hat, swing a rope, lasso a lost steer and feel the rumble of the stampede.
The Garis Gallery of the American West at the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center is one of the finest Western and Indian art galleries in the state. The museum offers an interactive experience for all ages and interests. All guests are shown the 'lay of the land' by one of the friendly professional tour guides. Toss a rope around a Longhorn steer; ride a bucking bronco; create your own brand or sit a spell near the campfire and listen to Jesse Chisholm as he offers advice to a young cowboy on his first cattle drive. In the multi-sensory Experience Theater, smell the wildflowers of a springtime Oklahoma prairie, listen to the thundering hooves of a cattle stampede, and feel the wind and rain on your face as a storm rages.
Home to one of the finest Western Art collections west of the Mississippi, in the Garis Gallery of the American West, you can enjoy an incredible collection of paintings and sculptures, and learn the stories of some of the artists. Walking through the gallery is like a trip through a small maze, with each turn providing a surprise of art, both contemporary and historical. Works by Frederick Remington, George Catlin, Charles Russell, Allan Houser and regional and local artists of note are on display in the permanent collection. Be sure to visit the outdoor sculpture, 'On the Chisholm Trail' bronze by Oklahoma artist Paul Moore. It is the largest bronze dedicated to the Chisholm Trail in the world.
Additionally, a private parking lot on-site at the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center offers space for RV, buses and large vehicle parking. Don’t be surprised if you see school buses during the week! More than 10,000 students visited during the academic school year 2017-18, for structured-learning class field trips. There are several lovely spots for picnics or to stretch your legs on one of their nature walks. Also, check out the website for information regarding special events. Or, for the most up-to-date information, visit the Facebook page.
We're a Top Ten Western Museum as named by True West Magazine, and on the TW Ultimate Western Destination list. Awarded the National Day of the Cowboy's "Cowboy Keeper" in 2016 and the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association Redbud Merit for Outstanding Attraction. In 2018, the museum in its Chisholm Trail 150th Partnership (Chisholm Trail Heritage Center in Duncan, Visit Enid and the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid, and the Oklahoma Historical Society) was awarded three of the state’s highest honors given in the Oklahoma tourism industry. The partnership won the RedBud Award for Outstanding Media Coverage and earned Merit Awards (category runner-up) for Best Partnership and Best Tri-Fold or Single Sheet Brochure or Publication. And in 2013, the Heritage Center was voted Best Museum in Chickasaw Country.
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