Harold Bell Wright/Pierce City Museum

04/21/2026

We are so excited to have our new exhibit "Mother Road Memories: Phelps County & Route 66" installed and open for the public! Today, we would like to thank our generous sponsor, Phelps County Bank!

Without their support, we wouldn’t be able to share these incredible stories from Phelps County's history.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! We truly appreciate your kindness and support.

Come check out this exhibit and more at the Old Courthouse and Dillon Log Cabin. We are open each Saturday from 10am to 4pm!

04/21/2026

Museum information at Google Sites

Harold Bell Wright Pierce City Museum

03/12/2026

03/09/2026

This maps shows abandoned shipwrecks and steamboat wrecks in just one section of the Missouri River. The earliest date for this section was General W. H. Ashby's steamboat wreck in 1830. View this map, its other pages depicting more parts of the Missouri River, and recorded abandoned shipwrecks here: https://tinyurl.com/MissouriRiverShipwrecks
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"Abandoned Shipwrecks on Missouri River Channel Maps of 1879 and 1954," Sheet 2. Washington to Howard section (mile 68-36), Map 850.1 Un3 1879-1954, The State Historical Society of Missouri-Columbia.
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03/09/2026

We are so honored to be voted the #4 best history museum in the USA!

03/09/2026

Frisco railroad services in Joplin, Missouri, began in 1897, with passenger trains departing and arriving every hour. Passengers, like these two, could get souvenir real photo postcards made while waiting for their train to arrive.
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"Leaving Joplin via Frisco," Fogel Photograph Studio, John F. Bradbury Jr. Collection (R1551). See more photos of the Frisco railroad in Missouri here: https://tinyurl.com/FriscoSHSMO
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03/09/2026

Avilla school group visited the museum this afternoon after seeing the Orphan Train exhibit at the Pierce City Branch Library. 42 students and 4 adults.

It is a beautiful day for a free private tour.

12/06/2025

Contact us for a private tour year-round! We love private tours.
Museum open regular hours, 1:30-4 pm, December 6 and 13, 2025. Closed for regular hours after Dec 13th until April 2026.
PRIVATE TOURS AVAILABLE YEAR-ROUND!

11/30/2025

Message from Janice Davidson:
My mother-in-law had a collection of Harold Bell Wright books that are in excellent condition. We are in Hastings Nebraska. I know at least one is signed. Her estate auction is online until Dec. 9. She was very excited about this collection. I would love to see it go to people who would appreciate them.. This is the auction site... https://rhynaldsauction.hibid.com/catalog/692111/hastings--ne---real-estate-and-personal-property-auction?apage=2