Green River Museum

08/29/2026

Out with the old and in with the new! Main Street saw many changes in 1958, including the demolition of two buildings that stood to the left of today's City Hall. The old frame building on the right was built in the late 1890s and served as a drug store for nearly 40 years. Among other things, it eventually became the Iron Skillet restaurant in the 1940s. The two-story frame building on the right was built in the 1860s and had a variety of uses over the years, including Cliff Moore's popcorn business. The upstairs once housed Morgantown's telephone and telegraph exchange.

Both buildings were torn down in 1958 to make way for the two modern red brick structures in the second photo. Hocker Insurance is located in the one story brick building today. Also visible is Dotson Pendley's barber shop (a former alley) and Butler County Drug, today's City Hall. If you look closely, you can see the former editor of the Green River Republican, J. Guy Cook, standing in front of Butler County Drug in the first photo.

The GREEN RIVER MUSEUM is open today from noon until 4pm and admission is free!

08/22/2026

Out with the old and in with the new! In 1958, Morgantown's Main Street was changing in a big way. On the corner of Butler and Logan Streets (now Main and GL Smith St.) a Civil War era building was getting ready to be demolished and replaced with Butler County Hardware, owned by Jim Spradlin. To the left of the corner building is a small storehouse, then the old John M. Carson Bank. To the right is Vincent's Hotel and Restaurant, Western Auto, and Flener Hotel and Restaurant. Ironically, Butler County Hardware would be the only building in this group that survived the 1971 fire. All the other structures were destroyed.

Today, Garrison's Department Store occupies the Spradlin building.

The GREEN RIVER MUSEUM will be open today from noon until 4pm and admission is free!

07/31/2026

This ca. 1950 snapshot gives us the opportunity to see what Logan Street (G. L. Smith Street today) looked like 75 years ago. The subject is Maggie Galloway Graves and she is seated in front of her home. Today, the Farm Bureau office stands on the site of Mrs. Graves house, which had previously been the home of the Odom family for three decades.

Looking up the street toward the court house, you can see the old Columbus Flener house on the right. It eventually became the home of Linden Day and his family. The trees along the street were numerous in those days. Before the mid-1950s, this block was made up of residences, with no commercial buildings.

The GREEN RIVER MUSEUM is open from noon until 4pm tomorrow and admission is free!

07/27/2026

We had a great day at the museum yesterday! Many congratulations to Becky Hankins for being this year's recipient of the GRM Impact Award! Thank you for everything you do in our community!

07/20/2026

Just a reminder that on Sunday, July 26, the GRM will honor Becky Hankins with a reception for her impressive impact on Butler County!

07/18/2026

Here's an unusual photograph of someone who only lived in Morgantown for a few years. Dr. Thomas L. Posey practiced dentistry in town during the first decade of the 20th century. He boarded at the Cole Hotel on Main Street at first, then bought a house in town. His home was one of several that were "piped for water" in August 1904.

The photograph was made by R. B. Morehead, ca. 1902, and the object of Dr. Posey's affections is, unfortunately, unidentified. Dr. Posey advertised in the Green River Republican frequently and had an office in the Morehead building on Logan Street, now G. L. Smith Street.

The GREEN RIVER MUSEUM is open on Saturdays from noon until 4pm and admission is free.

07/11/2026

The 1917 class of Morgantown High School was made up of only six students, including (top row, left to right) Margaret Haynes, Archie Moore, Troy Daugherty and (bottom row, left to right) Sankey Scott, Helen Murray, Birdie Daugherty. The sophomore students' ages ranged from 15 to 19 and all eventually left Butler County, except for Archie Moore, who became an attorney and practiced law in Morgantown. The photograph was made by George Dabbs in 1915.

The GREEN RIVER MUSEUM is open today from noon until 4pm and admission is free!

07/03/2026

Woodbury Homecoming was an annual event for decades, bringing together citizens former and current for a big meal and a time of fellowship. These images were taken at the 1948 homecoming, which was held at the government property, today's Green River Museum. While it is difficult to identify people in these 78-year-old Kodachrome slides, the family picture includes (left to right) Fayette Hines and Fairy Hines, with grandson Tommy Hines between them, daughter-in-law Hilda Melton Hines, and son Richard Ellis Hines at their home in Mooretown, taken before heading to Woodbury.

The GREEN RIVER MUSEUM is open Saturday from 11am until 4pm.

07/01/2026

06/27/2026

This wonderful early 1960s photograph was taken by Royce Forsythe and is part of his family's large collection of color slides. The subjects are two of Morgantown's fine citizens, Don Locke and Cliff Day. Behind them is the corner where our new Morgantown Bank and Trust has recently been built. The buildings in the background are (left to right) a former service station, built by Tom and James Hines in 1931 and Cliff Day's shoe shop, which was the Enterprise movie theater in the 1920s. Next is Phelps Garage, which eventually became Roy Phelps Ford dealership. To the left of Mr. Locke and Mr. Day is the awning that was once part of the Hollywood Theater on Main Street. When this photo was taken, it covered the entrance to Ed Smith's Department Store annex.

Thank you, Louise Forsythe, for generously posting many of Royce's great photos over the years. The GREEN RIVER MUSEUM is open today from noon until 4pm.