Yukon Museum Complex: Historical Society Museum, The Train Museum, & The Farm Museum(50)

YUKON

Since the first time I lived in Oklahoma City, I loved going over to Yukon. The main reason in 1995 was that Yukon had a $1 movie theater. My wife and I were scrimping by so we could see a movie, get popcorn and a drink for next to nothing. After we'd go see a cheap flick, we'd stay in Yukon and look around. To me, it had a small town feel without actually being small. And most folks were really friendly. This week I went back to Yukon to see a few museums and I discovered that there are still some super friendly people living and working there. I talked with Doug at the Train Museum and Alan at the Farm Museum. They helped make it a great day for museum crawling.

This post is another one that's going to be split into three parts. The reason is these three museums are not only associated with each other, but they're also really close to each other. A block off of Main Street on 3rd Street, you can spot the brightly painted box car and the sleek silver passenger car. That's the Train Museum and History Museum respectively. About another half block further down 3rd is the Farm Museum. You can either walk the short distance or pile in the car and drive down. Either way, you should check all of them out.

I'm going to start with the largest of the three collections, The Farm Museum that was started by Ernest Berousek and is now being helmed by Alan Ridgeway who was kind enough to show me a few highlights and talk to me about the Yukon Historical Society. I'm always up for hearing interesting facts or a good story. When I was young, I drove tractors and worked with livestock so a lot of what I saw seemed familiar. Even so, it was an incredible exhibit of really old, I mean REALLY old, tractors. One of the last ones I got to see was a 1912 Case steam powered tractor. At the time, I'm sure it was a miracle to not have to rely on a team of mules or horses to get your chores done, but it must have been quite a task to keep that machine belching steam to keep it plowing fields. To all my fellow FFA people, be thankful for what you have now! HA! The Farm Museum also had some vintage hand tools, old signs, and a player piano that still kind of works, but could use an overhaul. (Any volunteers would be appreciated.) The museum also had a small display of a well respected local musician named...Ernie Divis! You thought I was going to say that Garth fella, didn't you? Ernie Divis was part of the large Czech community in the area and he was a proficient polka performer. Now that I saw there are a few Divis LPs out there, I'm going to have to seek them out for my own collection. Ernie is also part of the Yukon Hall of Fame Wall. In addition to the wall photo, there is a binder with the photo and bio of each person that's in the HoF. It's truly a great set of people who helped get this town to where it is today.

To round out the Farm Museum, they have a massive archive of Canadian County history as well as books that contain all editions of the Yukon newspapers The Sun and The Review. Volume after volume line a few bookshelves and they're in great condition so you can flip through and find your birthday or specific event and take a photo of the newspaper. The Farm Museum is in a barn, so when it's hot, it's hot and when it's cold, it's cold. But it's well worth a trip down 3rd Street to see all this great stuff. There are also some farm related prints available for sale by artist Don Scott. Here's a few pics. Under those, I'll talk about the History Museum.

Entry Fee: Free, donations appreciated

The Yukon Historical Society Museum has recently moved. It was located in a school building that was leaking and moldy and not a great place to house a collection, so they found a new home in a sleek silver passenger train car that is now conveniently located behind the Train Museum. As you might imagine, it's a chore to set up a museum inside a train car, but they are up to the task. I visited very early in the relocation process so there were still things in boxes and partial displays of things. But I can see the vision that they're going for and I feel like it's going to be a giant silver jewel box filled with interesting bits of Yukon History. As it is now, I still got some cool photos. They even have the first phone switchboard used in Yukon. It was run by a blind woman who learned the different tones of alerts and adeptly figured out where each piece of the the board went at any given time. I'm always amazed by cool storied like that! Since the train car is being converted, they are also working to make it ADA accessible so if you have trouble getting up and down stairs, hold off going until that gets set up. Otherwise, go check it out! Next up is the Train Museum. See you down the line!

Entry Fee: Free, donations appreciated

Last but not least is the Yukon Train Museum. When you turn North down 3rd Street, you'd have to be visually impaired if you didn't see the bright yellow boxcar. They have a new sign out front that they wanted to move closer to Main Street but the city said No. From what I was told, they often hear the phrase, "I didn't know you were down here!" from locals and out of towners alike. Well, hopefully I can shed a little light on their home on 3rd Street so more people can go find it because they now know it's there.

Started in 1988, The Yukon Train Museum went through a few different phases with various train cars being part of it. To celebrate 100 years of railroad in Yukon, the current boxcar was renovated and now houses the collection. Much like the Historical Society Museum, the Train Museum is undergoing change. Pieces are being moved, on loan pieces are being given back to their owners, and a few things are being sold to raise funds for a better museum. When you're not hyper wealthy and you rely heavily on volunteers like Doug, the gentleman I talked to, you have to do what you can to make a place that people will enjoy. Volunteers are vital for a lot of museums in more ways than just being around during business hours. Inside the boxcar are two decorated model train platforms. Since the train cars aren't exactly level, the platforms are being rebuilt to accommodate the tilt of the boxcar. That way the little trains will run smoothly. In addition to the miniatures, there are a lot of great things to see that are railroad related. I enjoyed seeing the railroad map of Oklahoma. I'm sure some of the train hopping hobos would have loved to have had one back in the day!

If you have an afternoon free, you should go check out these museums. Be sure to look on line for the schedule of when they're open. Like I said before, volunteers are there when they can be. And I, for one, appreciate each and every volunteer I meet. And you can meet some great ones if you head over to Yukon.

Entry Fee: Free, donations appreciated

Jonathan Elmore ©2025