Museum of the Red River

About The Museum

Some of the finest examples of Native American art can be seen at the Museum of the Red River in Idabel, Oklahoma. The Museum opened its doors in 1975 to house objects dating from 10,000 years ago to historic times, that were being discovered locally. The Museum’s collections gradually expanded to include objects from southeastern Oklahoma, northeastern Texas, and southwestern Arkansas: the “Caddoan Archaeological Area.” The Caddo had been active in this area from about 900 to 1700, and their artifacts were well represented. The early collections also included artifacts from the Choctaw, who had been forcibly transferred into Oklahoma from Mississippi in the 1830’s.

Today, the Museum of the Red River has much more to offer visitors. Among its present collections, comprising over 20,000 objects, there are important Precolumbian holdings, ethnographic works and contemporary native arts and crafts from throughout the Americas, as well as representative artifacts from indigenous cultures in Africa, East Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Visitors to the Museum can also study geological displays and see the forty-foot long cast skeleton of a large predatory dinosaur, Acrocanthosaurus atokensis, (dubbed “Acro”) discovered twelve miles east of the Museum.

The Museum of the Red River operates as part of the Herron Foundation, a non-profit Oklahoma corporation, and department of the city of Idabel. The separately incorporated Idabel Museum Society (IMSI) serves as the Museum’s membership and support organization.

The museum is located at 812 East Lincoln Road, on the South Highway 70 Bypass, in Idabel, McCurtain County, Oklahoma.

Museum hours: Tue - Sat (10–5); Sun 1–5; Closed Mondays and National Holidays

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Idabel Museum Society (IMSI)

The Idabel Museum Society is the membership and support organization for the Museum of the Red River. It provides operating resources to the Museum and administers its many programs. IMSI receives support from all over the country, and welcomes gifts from individuals, corporations, and foundations. The Society relies entirely on non-government contributions. To find out more about the Idabel Museum Society, please call (580) 286 3616. You can support the Museum of the Red River by making a donation in any amount to IMSI.

Make checks out to: IMSI and 

Send to:  Museum of the Red River 812 East Lincoln Road Idabel, OK, 74745

Support

The Museum’s budget is supported by investment income, earned income, and the ongoing support of individuals, families, corporations and foundations. It neither solicits nor accepts government funding. Additionally, it works in cooperation with other arts and cultural agencies to provide activities and events to the public.

2012

Gifts to the General and Program Fund

Frank and Jeanne Acker, Greg and Jeanette Bohanan, Virginia L. Bower, Linda and Mike DeBerry, Mary Kay Dooley, Christina Eastep, Michelle Finch-Walker and Terry Walker, Tina Foshee-Thomas and Lewis Thomas, Delcyne Grant, Donald A. Herron Family, Jan Herron and Gamaliel Leyva, Quintus H. Herron, Raydelle Meehan In Memory of Virginia “Jenny” King Hurn, Nira Levine, Henry Moy, Carolyn Neal, Betty Ramsey, John and Ida Ramsey, Marsha D. Russell, Vickie and Scott Smith, Dr. Lewis Stiles, Sunni and Homer Wager, Lavetta Ward, Sallie Ann Webb, Bob and Jeanie West 

Bob Terry Insurance and Financial Services, International Paper Foundation, Judy’s Furniture, Martha A. Johnson Trust, McCurtain County Art Club, McCurtain County Bar Association, Michael S. McElroy Insurance, WalMart Supercenter, Store #38– Idabel

Gifts to the Collections Fund

Dr. Richard A. Bloom, Peter and Ginny Carl, Sam Johnson

In Honor of Quintus Herron's 89th Birthday:

Lavetta Angelley, Joan Boileau, Joy Boileau, Jerry and Donna Brownrigg, Lindsey Campbell, Peter and Ginny Carl, Roger and Joyce Davis, Dan and Kaye Duncan, Ron and Carolyn Engel-Wilson, Dr. Walter H. Frey, Paul and Margaret Fuller, William and Susan Gentry, J. Marshall and Sally Gettys, Charlotte Gurley, Robin and Ford Hendershot, Connie and Jacinto Hernandez, Carolina M. Herron, Donald A. and Mary Etta Herron, Jan Herron and Gamaliel Leyva, John and Sue Hinkel, Nancy and Ed Hurliman, Pattie J. James, Dr. Bruce King, Drs. Nira and Leonard Levine, Peggy S. and Dalton Long, Sherron Mitchell, Ramona and Douglas Morris, Henry Moy, Carolynn Neal, Doris Perkins, Judy and Bob Petre, Dr. Robert and Marianne Pickering, John and Ida Ramsey, Lewis and Karla Schwartz, Jeff and Elaine Smith, Jo Ann H. Smith, Vickie and Scott Smith, Ronny and Doris Smithee, Richard H. Steed, Billie Tomlinson, Daniel L. Vick, Lavetta Ward, Sallie Ann Webb, Dr. Kent and Jonnie Westbrook, Darrell and Kathie Whitten, Christina and Frank Young 

Caddo Trading Co., Don Shaw– Attorney, Forest Heritage Center Gift Shop, Idabel Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture, Palace Drug/Ralls Enterprises, Inc.

Gifts to the Libraries

Michael Bernstein (Tucson, AZ), Peter Carl (Oklahoma City, OK), Marshall Gettys (Norman, OK), Brian Lang (Little Rock, AR), Ken McCauley (Tulsa, OK), Henry Moy (Idabel, OK), Edgar S. Oerichbauer (International Falls, MN), Ben Pickard (Oklahoma City, OK), Betty Ramsey (Idabel, OK), Paul Shepard (Tucson, AZ), Jennifer Shea, James Shea and Genevieve Shea (Beloit, WI) In memory of Dr. Daniel E. Shea, Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art (Shawnee, OK)

Gifts in Kind

Dr. Robert Brooks, Blake Courtney, Jan Herron and Gamaliel Leyva, Bill Mercer, Jack Moy, Dr. Robert Pickering, Paul Shepard, Scott Smith, Kathy White 

aep/PSO, Hostetler Roofing, International Paper, McCurtain Daily Gazette, Routh Enterprises, Walmart Foundation and Supercenter #38, Idabel

Corporate Sponsors

Museum of the Red River Corporate Sponsors are businesses that provide contributions designated to support the Museum’s FREE ADMISSION policy.

All Smiles Dental, Bob Terry Insurance and Financial Services, Castelano Designs, Colonial Lodge Independent Living, Comfort Suites Idabel, Complete Care Medical Supply, Crain Realty, Don Shaw, Attorney, Edward Jones Investments, Fenix Industries, Inc., First State Bank– Valliant, Herron Foundation, Inc. Hill Nursing Home, Inc., Hoffman Sales and Rentals, Inc., The Idabel National Bank, International Paper, Jerry L. McCombs, P.C., J.P. Longacre, PC, McCurtain Co. Bar Association, McCurtain Daily Gazette, Michael S. McElroy Insurance, Native American Art Appraisals, Inc., Routh Enterprises, Rustin Concrete, Tom Ellis, Attorney, Water House of Idabel