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Preserving Our Regional Heritage for Over Two Decades
From World War II Remembered to Those Were The Days, diverse exhibits prove
to be popular with both local residents and visitors

by Aaron W. Hughey

“The primary purpose of the Wrather West Kentucky Museum is to highlight and promote an understanding of the social, cultural, and economic development of West Kentucky and the Jackson Purchase,” according to Kate Reeves, director of the Museum.

“The Jackson Purchase was acquired from the Chickasaw Indians in 1818,” Reeves explains. “It included enough land to form eight counties in Kentucky as well as 20 in Tennessee.”

Reeves, who has been in her current position for over five years, is obviously excited about what the Museum has to offer.
“Acquisitions, exhibits and special programs support the mission of the Wrather West Kentucky Museum,” Reeves continues.

“Both permanent and changing exhibits are open to the public at no charge.”

The Wrather West Kentucky Museum is located at North 16th Street and University Drive on the Murray State University campus.

“In previous times, the building in which the Wrather Museum is located was the Murray State University campus,” Reeves notes. “Classes, chapel, pep rallies, debates, and plays were held in it.”

In addition to the administrative offices of the institution, the building also housed the bookstore, post office, a dining room, and science laboratories.

The building which currently houses the Wrather West Kentucky Museum has an interesting history. It was the first permanent building of what was to eventually become Murray State University. Completed in 1924, it was the site of one of the first two normal schools in the state.

“More than 1,800 citizens of Murray and Calloway Counties contributed $117,000 to the state of Kentucky for the establishment of a normal school at Murray, Kentucky,” according to Beth Bradley, who has researched and written about the history of the building. “These donations secured the dream of higher education in Western Kentucky.”

The Wrather West Kentucky Museum sponsors a number of very popular exhibits that are more or less permanent.

“The World War II Remembered exhibit has been one of the most visited exhibits that we’ve ever featured,” Reeves explains.

“The exhibit has affected many visitors, some of whom have come in and shared their own memories of the war.”

“Many items in the exhibit are on loan or were donated by members of the community,” Reeves adds. “The community has been exceptionally supportive of the Museum.”

Another exhibit that continues to draw a large amount of attention has been Drawing on Her Memories, a collection of paintings by Helen LaFrance, an older, African-American Kentucky folk artist. LaFrance, a native of Graves County, received no formal art instruction and did not attend high school.

Most of LaFrance’s paintings deal with daily life in the region in the 1920s and 1930s.

“The paintings are a popular attraction that the Museum is proud to show,” Reeves observes.

Other popular exhibits include Discover a New World: Women’s History, which examines the different roles women have played in the United States, and Those Were The Days, which highlights the story of tobacco and the antique tools and equipment that were used in its farming and processing.

“We also have pictoral displays that are changed monthly,” Reeves notes. “Currently, for example, we are featuring a display on the life and times of Daniel Boone.”

Back in the mid-1960s, the building which now houses the Museum was re-named in honor of Marvin O. Wrather, one of the first 12 students to graduate from Murray State Normal School in 1926.

Over the years, Wrather served the institution in several capacities, including secretary of the Alumni Association, Director of Public Relations, and Executive Vice President. He even served as acting president of the school on three different occasions.

The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975; it was then extensively renovated and dedicated as the Wrather West Kentucky Museum in 1982.

“The Museum is open from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday, and from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm on Saturdays,” Reeves says. “Please stop by for a visit; admission is free to the public.”