The Rock Island Arsenal Museum in

Rock Island County, Illinois Rock Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois, bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 147,546. Its county seat is Rock Island; its largest city is neighboring ...

is based around the history of

Rock Island Arsenal The Rock Island Arsenal comprises , located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. Rock Island ...

. It is the second oldest museum of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, the oldest being the Museum at West Point.

History

There have been two museum locations. It was first founded in 1905 as the Ordnance Museum, later shutting down during World War I and reopening a few years later. It was renamed in 1919 to the Rock Island Arsenal Museum. The now renamed museum moved to a different location in 1948.

Collection

The original museum was opened with donations from the

1904 World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...

and the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

ordnance warehouse. The exhibits are about the people in Arsenal Island's history, its manufacturing processes, and the equipment it has produced. There is a large display of more than 1,100 firearms that were used by the military, both from overseas or within the United States. Five of these weapons were used at the

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...

. Twenty-five percent of the collection's small firearms are not on display, including three rare rifles. Jodean Murdock, education

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

, says that the firearms get the most attention from visitors. The museum has a research center located in its basement, containing books, maps, manuals, and magazines, among others. A Children's Discovery Room was created with uniforms and hats for children to try on. Hygrothermographs and a

thermostat A thermostat is a regulating device component which senses the temperature of a physical system and performs actions so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint. Thermostats are used in any device or system tha ...

are used to control the temperature and humidity in the collection rooms so that the items contained within them are not damaged. The museum collections were reduced in 2016, with almost 3,200 pieces being moved to a warehouse operated by the Army. There was also a large reduction in staff. The museum's gift shop went out of business as well due to falling sales.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Tourist attractions in Rock Island, Illinois United States Army museums Museums in Rock Island County, Illinois Museums established in 1905 1905 establishments in Illinois