The Museum of Automobiles is an

automobile museum An automotive museum is a museum that explores the history of automotive-related transportation. * Bold – Automotive museums owned by automotive manufacturers * ''Italics'' – no longer open to public access, excludes private or invitation on ...

in the city of

Morrilton, Arkansas Morrilton is a city in Conway County, Arkansas, United States, less than northwest of Little Rock. The city is the county seat of Conway County. The population was 6,992 at the 2020 United States census. History In 1825 a trading post was establ ...

, adjacent to

Petit Jean State Park Petit Jean State Park is a park in Conway County, Arkansas managed by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. It is located atop Petit Jean Mountain adjacent to the Arkansas River in the area between the Ouachita Mountains and Ozarks, Ozark ...

. The museum features a collection of

antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

and

classic car A classic car is an older car, typically 25 years or older, though definitions vary.While other languages, such as German and Dutch, may refer to classic cars as "oldtimers", this usage is unknown in English, where "old-timer" refers to an elder ...

s, motorcycles, guns, license plates, arcade machines and automobile memorabilia. It also includes a rare 1923 Climber touring car, made in Arkansas. The museum hosts many automobile-related events including swap meets and car shows.

History

Opened in 1964, the museum was founded by

Winthrop Rockefeller Winthrop Rockefeller (May 1, 1912 – February 22, 1973) was an American politician and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the fourth son and fifth child of American financer John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. He is one of the g ...

before he became

Governor of Arkansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. The museum housed Rockefeller's collection of antique and classic cars until his death, and in 1975 the collection was sold to collector

Bill Harrah William Fisk Harrah (September 2, 1911 – June 30, 1978) was an American businessman and the founder of Harrah's Hotel and Casinos, now part of Caesars Entertainment. Early years and education Harrah was born in South Pasadena, California, the ...

for $947,000, which included 68 motorized vehicles and three that were horse-drawn. The museum building, designed by the

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

firm of Ginocchio, Carter, Cromwell and Neylan, and 57-acre grounds were donated to the

Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism The Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism (ADPHT) is an executive department of the government of the U.S. state of Arkansas. It is responsible for promoting, protecting, interpreting, and managing the state's natural and cultural ...

. A new non-profit corporation was formed and reopened the Museum in 1976 with cars on loan from collectors around the country, leasing the building from the state.

Collection

Today the museum features over 30 automobiles that were donated to the collection. It also retains several cars from Rockefeller's personal vehicles: the 1951

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

that he drove to Arkansas when he made the state his home, his 1967 Cadillac limousine with a Santa Gertrudis bull

sterling silver Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. ''Fine silver'', which is 99.9% pure silver, is r ...

hood ornament A hood ornament (or bonnet ornament in Commonwealth English), also called, motor mascot, or car mascot is a specially crafted model which symbolizes a car company like a badge, located on the front center portion of the hood. It has been used ...

, and his 1914

Cretors C. Cretors & Company is an American manufacturing company, specializing in popcorn machines and other concessions equipment. It was established in 1885 with the invention of the first large-scale commercial popcorn machine to pop corn in oil. C. ...

popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated; the same names also refer to the foodstuff produced by the expansion. A popcorn kernel's strong hull contains the se ...

wagon.

References

External links

Museum of Automobiles
{{authority control Museums in Conway County, Arkansas Automobile museums in Arkansas Museums established in 1964 Buildings and structures in Morrilton, Arkansas 1964 establishments in Arkansas