Window on the Plains Grew From a Hotel Ballroom

Window on the Plains began in 1976 as the Moore County Historical Museum. Its early home was the ballroom of a landmark hotel. When the present complex broke ground in 2000, a team of mules pulled the plow.

The collection moved into the building at 1820 S. Dumas Avenue in 2001 and took its current name. Displays follow farming and ranching, industry, business, family life, and wildlife. A research and archives center gives local history a working room as well as an exhibit floor. The archive and exhibits share one roof.

One unusual collection contains about 400 clay caricatures by W. A. Spurlock. The figures are part portrait and part local memory, though pieces may rotate rather than remain on view together. Even the mule-drawn groundbreaking reads like a small piece of the farm story the museum would hold. The Art Center opened next door in October 2004. Its changing shows give the complex two ways to hold local life: one gathers Moore County's record, while the other keeps making room for new work.