WEST POINT — After stopping in Wiggins, Brookhaven and Marks, a Smithsonian Institution exhibition is about to be on the road to West Point.

West Point Growth Alliance Executive Director Lisa Klutts said “Crossroads: Change in Rural America” is making its way to the Black Prairie Blues Museum.

While ice and snow pushed back the original opening date, Klutts said the goal is to open the exhibition to the public on Friday. The exhibition will be on display through the beginning of March.

Molly McMillan, program officer with the Mississippi Humanities Council, said “Crossroads” was developed through the Smithsonian SITES team, specifically the Museum on Main Streets Division.

The humanities council arranged the host sites for “Crossroads” to visit in Mississippi this year, with a focus on small towns that may not get to see this caliber of exhibition otherwise, she said.

“There is a big emphasis on bringing it to rural places in each state– host sites in the state that may not be able to bring in Smithsonian quality stuff,” McMillan said.

She said the exhibition traveled across the state during the summer of 2020. However, during that year, there were not many opportunities for other programming due to the pandemic.

This time around, the humanities council arranged the exhibition’s six stops in small towns across the state, choosing locations where the exhibition can have an impact, starting conversations about identity, community, land, change and persistence, she said.

“It takes a broad look at the characteristics of rural America by exploring the historical importance of rural communities, their connection to the land, and how change in various aspects– whether through the land or demographically– have transformed rural America, and how the people still living in these small communities are evolving for the future,” McMillan said.

McMillan said the exhibition asks rural citizens how they see themselves and their future, leading to discussions of the things they want to change– and the things they don’t.

While the exhibition has been traveling both in the state and nationally, Klutts said it is also personalized to each town it stops in. For the West Point installation, she said she has been gathering photos of downtown and the changes it has gone through over the years, along with other photos celebrating the city’s history and growth.

“I’ve always loved to hear the stories … of the people of West Point,” Klutts said. “I love getting people together to talk and meet each other to share their stories and their different perspectives of West Point.”

Along with the installation at the Black Prairie Blues Museum, Klutts said she has also been coordinating with the Bryan Public Library to put together a display on West Point’s history.

History and archives librarian Virginia Ellis said she is putting together a display featuring photos, a map, records and books portraying rural life in times gone by. This includes books on the topic generally, but also Clay County specific information.

“That’s what I want to show, is that in Clay County, it was a purely agrarian society,” Ellis said. “We had a couple of railroads running through here to pick up the farm products and then we became factories with the mills and Bryan Foods starting up here.”

McMillan said training is provided to local exhibition hosts on how to get the community engaged in “Crossroads,” including engaging with local scholars, bringing in public speakers and community members for discussions, school field trips and more.

Klutts said two events are already scheduled for “Crossroads” during its West Point stop, including a presentation on old coins, money and stamps from a local resident from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 5 and a Wake Up West Point come-and-go networking, coffee and breakfast event at 8 a.m. on Feb. 23.

The exhibition will be open daily at the Black Prairie Blues Museum from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., though it is closed on Sundays. Group tours can be scheduled through the Growth Alliance at (662) 494-5121.

Once “Crossroads” leaves West Point, it will continue traveling to Rolling Fork and Pontotoc, where it will stay during the summer. For more information on “Crossroads” and the Smithsonian Institution, visit www.sites.si.edu/s/.