Heartland of America Museum — Attraction in Oklahoma

The ladies that run this place are very rude when you don’t want to go through their museum. We had several kiddos with us and the museum wouldn’t have kept their attention. Anyways, we got our stamps and my grandma was having some tummy issues so she went to the bathroom. So the kids and I stepped outside to go and check out the little buildings. We thought they were locked. The school house one of the kids checked to see if the door was open, to our surprise it was unlocked. So we checked out the little pictures on the inside of the front door area and one of the kids opened the next door. We walked around inside, looking at everything. The kids really enjoyed this little school. We walked out and the kids decided to see if the diner was open so they could look inside. Well that one was opened too. So we checked it out and took a picture and went back outside. My grandma came outside and one the kids wanted to show her inside the diner and tell her about the school house. About that time one of the ladies walked out and I thought she was just going to chat with us ( like everyone else we encountered on our Route 66 stops) and I said “ these kids really enjoyed seeing inside the school house!” Her response was “ yeah I bet they did since you didn’t pay for a ticket to get in.” I apologized to her and she just completely ignored me. Well my grandma said to the woman (she wasn’t around us when this took place) “you getting to close up shop and go home” well she completely ignored her. We had no clue that was part of the actual museum that you had to pay. Had I of known that and she wouldn’t have been rude to me I would have paid her the money and loved to go see the inside where all the cars are. So we left and I was talking to my grandma and she told me that the woman inside opened the door to check on her which would have been nice but it weirded my grandma out. All in all I would suggest people stop and get a sticker then move on. I do suggest stopping in Hinton at the museum and talking to the man in it who was full of information and had tons and tons of cool items that he has dug up and speak with him. He was by all means my favorite stop!

We traveled down 66 from Stroud down to Clinton. Getting 32 stamps in our book. All in two days! The kids will always remember this trip their great-grandma...

I'm from Weatherford, OK, living there from 1950 to 1970. My wife and I revisited there last month. We ran across the Heartland Museum which I wasn't aware of before now. The museum was closed but, wow, the Porter House Diner, totally blew my mind. My mom, Edna Hedge, worked at this diner in 1950's under Harry Wright and another man later Carl Ditmore. This first diner had 12 or 14 dining seats and the old quarter juke boxes at each seat. Mom worked at the shorter, smaller version of the Diner, in the 60,s under Laverne Snow and later under Cliff Harris. I ate in these places many times. I remember 20 cent hamburgers, 25 cent cheeseburgers and 40 cent double-charcoburgers cooked on a charcoal grill.I occasionally washed dishes in the smaller diner and I even slept occasionally, as a small child in the back of the bigger diner in the 50"s on a bunch of bagged potatoes in tote sacks as mom worked the night shift after her and dad's divorce. I remember sneaking around in the back of the diner, when telephones were managed by live operators when you picked up the phone receiver. I refused to talk to the operator one time briefly then finally asked her what in the heck did she want! Needless to say, the operator called the diner back, after I hung up, and chewed my mom out mercilessly. My memory fades as to what my mom said or did to me!

Yes, I heard about Elvis Presley visiting there and I also heard that Broderick Crawford, in the 50,s TV program "Highway Patrol," also stopped in there and ate. Who knows the truth of this!!??

Great...

Definitely worth your time if you’re interested in American history. The museum also offers a wind turbine tour for an additional fee. We followed the tour guide to a nearby wind turbine after watching a short film on how they are constructed. Only authorized personnel are allowed in the turbine, but it was still nice to get right up next to such a massive machine. On the way back we stopped by city hall to look at a retired blade on outdoor display.

The museum features displays from tools to toys, military memorabilia and all sorts of artifacts from daily life of Americans from the 19th and early 20th century. My kids enjoyed looking for objects on the scavenger hunt. The facilities are clean and well organized. The volunteer staff did an excellent job hosting our visit and answering our questions. We were impressed that many of the objects on displays can be touched, which is great for curious kids and adults!

Due to poor weather we didn’t spend much time at the outdoor exhibits, but those looked...