The Midgley Museum is a city-owned museum located in the city of Enid, Oklahoma.[1][2]
The museum's exhibits include a large mineral and rock collection that features a 7,000-pound petrified stump and fluorescent rocks that must be viewed under a black light. The museum is operated by the Northwest Oklahoma Masonic Lodges.[3]
History
The items displayed in the museum were collected by the Midgley family that came to the United States from England in the 1870s.[4] Wheat and hay farmers, the Midgleys collected exotic rocks while traveling to sell their harvests.[4]
The family commissioned Texas stonemasons to construct a home from rocks they had excavated.[4] They donated their collections and the home as a museum to the city of Enid.[5]
Exhibits
The house itself is a large part of the display, as it is made from the rocks and minerals the Midgleys collected over the years.[4] In the front yard, there is a 7,000-pound petrified tree stump found near Woodward, Oklahoma.[4] The fireplace is made from priceless fossil stone and a glass-encased gypsum selenite, the largest removed from Oklahoma's Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge.[4]
The entire mineral and rock collection includes more than 30 types of exotic rocks, fossil stones, crystal, agate, sandstone, and petrified wood.[6]
Black light room
A closet in the house is filled with fluorescent rocks on display under a black light.[6]
Trophy room
The trophy room includes a stuffed buffalo, Royal Canadian elk, and a moose, and javelinas.[6]
