Oklahoma History Museum Exhibit Features Grinding Box On Loan from Talbot Library & Museum

The Oklahoma History Center, in Oklahoma City, is celebrating its 10th anniversary by inviting audiences to step back into time with its new exhibit "Crossroads of Commerce: A History of Free Enterprise in Oklahoma".   This exhibit opened up on November 18, 2015 and includes an object on loan from the Talbot Library and Museum-- a Grinding Box that was rescued from the Hildebrand-Beck Mill before its eventual collapse.

Above Photos are from the exhibit at the Oklahoma History Center featuring the Grinding Box from the Hildebrand-Beck Mill.
(Photo Credit:  Donna Clark)

The Beck-Hildebrand Mill was built in 1907 and is located near US 412 between Kansas, Oklahoma and Siloam Springs, Arkansas close to the town of Flint, OK.   The first photo of the Beck-Hildebrand Mill, shows the actual operating features from 1924.   The second photo shows the condition of the mill in the late 1970's.

Hildebrand-Beck Mill: 1907, late 1970s, and Grinding Box in mill

According to the NewsOK.com website,  this "exhibition tells the story of the state’s pioneers of commerce and economic development through five time periods from 1716 to the present day....The exhibition chronicles commerce in Oklahoma all the way from early interactions and trade with the Native American tribes to recent economic drivers, such as the MAPS programs and the arrival of the Oklahoma City Thunder."

The Oklahoma History Center is open Monday - Saturday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.   The Center is located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73105.