The Three Rivers Museum is a local museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The museum was established in 1989, and its main locationâÂÂa railroad depot formerly operated by the Midland Valley RailroadâÂÂwas bought in the fall of 1998. After renovations, the museum opened on March 3, 2001. The museum features several exhibits both inside and outside of the depot, such as artifacts of Bass Reeves. An exhibit behind the museum is Muskogee Roads 63-138, an ALCO S-2 diesel locomotive.
The Three Rivers Museum was established in 1989; the idea of the museum originated from Dorothy Ball, the chairman of the Muskogee Historic Preservation Commission. The museum's name was derived from its location in the "Three Rivers" region in Muskogee, Oklahoma which is surrounded by the Arkansas, Grand, and Verdigris River. In the fall of 1998, the museum acquired a railroad depot in Muskogee, which was originally owned by the Midland Valley Railroad. The depot was built in 1916, and was abandoned after the railroad line closed in 1964; the designer of the depot is attributed to Louis Curtiss. The museum renovated the depot with federal grants of US$1,000,000 () through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. On March 3, 2001, the depot opened as the location for the museum. The freight area of the depot was used for the interior exhibits, and the ticket counter was used for the gift shop.
The museum has several exhibits both inside and outside of the depot. Exhibits inside of the museum include model trains depicting those used on the railroad which served the depot; artifacts of Bass Reeves, Belle Starr, and Alice Robertson; the 1917 founding of the Mistletoe TroopâÂÂa Girl Scout troop in MuskogeeâÂÂand the first sales of Girl Scout Cookies; information about former local businesses in Muskogee; and rotating displays covering military history and women's suffrage. Exhibits outside of the museum include a diesel locomotive built in the 1940s; a one-room schoolhouse, known as Oak Grove School; and several statues. Other exhibits include a library of over one hundred videotapes of oral history interviews by the historian C. W. West, which were digitized by the Oklahoma Historical Society.
In front of the museum, a bronze statue named A Promise to Keep depicts a Girl Scout in uniform while giving a pledgeâÂÂholding three fingers up on one handâÂÂwith four boxes of cookies at her feet. Another statue for the museum began construction in 2021. On January 11, 2025, an tall bronze statue of Bass Reeves was unveiled at the Three Rivers Museum. The statue depicts Bass Reeves walking on wooden floorboards with a Billy club in his hand, alluding to his service as a police officer. It has been suggested that the residents of Muskogee indirectly helped in the creation of the statue; the statue was created to commemorate Reeves. The tombstone of Bass Reeves is preserved at the museum. In addition to the exhibits at the Midland Valley Railroad depot, the museum operates the Grant Foreman House.
Muskogee Roads 63-138 is an ALCO S-2 diesel locomotive. The locomotive was built in January 1949 with the serial No. 76581, and sold to the Northern Pacific Terminal Company as No. 38. The locomotive was sold to Fort Howard Paper Company as No. 63-138. The Fort Howard Paper Company was later owned by Georgia Pacific, which donated the locomotive to the Three Rivers Museum on October 22, 2002. The locomotive was lettered and painted into the Muskogee Roads livery. A chain-link fence was built around the locomotive, and a concrete sidewalk running from the back of the museum to the fence was poured. Wooden stairs were built next to the locomotive's cab to allow visitors to enter the locomotive. the locomotive has remained on static display behind the depot, with Oak Grove School.
The museum hosts several annual events, sometimes in collaboration with other attractions in Muskogee. The museumâÂÂwith the Oklahoma Music Hall of FameâÂÂhosts Muskogee Heritage Days, an annual event featuring Native American music, medicine shows, and storytelling of the Old West. In addition, the museum hosts the Bass Reeves Legacy Tour. The Polar Express Pajama Party is held with the Roxy Theater, which features a screening of the 2004 film The Polar Express. Other annual events include Railroad Day and Bare Bones Film Festival.