The Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street, in cooperation with Missouri Humanities, presents “Crossroads: Change in Rural America.” The exhibition examining the evolving landscape of rural American opens at the Trails Regional Library-Knob Noster Branch on Monday, December 18, 2023.

“Crossroads” will be on view through January 29, 2024. Trails Regional Library-Knob Noster and the surrounding community has been expressly chosen by the Missouri Humanities Council to host “Crossroads” as part of the Museum on Main Street program-a national/state/local partnership to bring exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations.

Since 1900, the percentage of Americans living in rural areas dropped from 60  to 17 percent. The exhibition looks at that remarkable societal change and how rural Americans responded. Americans have relied on rural crossroads for generations. These places where people gather to exchange goods, services and culture and to engage in political and community discussions are an important part of our cultural fabric. Despite the massive economic and demographic impacts brought on by these changes, America’s small towns continue to creatively focus on new opportunities for growth and development.

Designed for small-town museums, libraries and cultural organizations, “Crossroads” will serve as a community meeting place for conversations about how rural America has changed.

To learn more about “Crossroads” and other Museum on Main Street exhibitions, visit www.museumonmainstreet.org. Support for MoMS has been provided by the U.S. Congress. SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for more than 65 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play. For exhibition description and tour schedules, visit www.sites.si.edu.