In the Community – The Putnam Museum

After nearly 40 years, the Putnam Museum’s regional history exhibit has received a major makeover. A three-year collaboration by Putnam; community partners such as Friends of Martin Luther King Interpretive Center, LULAC Council 10 and Azubuike African American Council for the Arts; and many guest curators, Common Ground: Our Voice, Our Stories opened in April of 2023. The newly remodeled exhibit both brings our region’s history up to the modern day and views that history through a more inclusive lens so that everyone can see their heritage represented and learn about the challenges and contributions people with backgrounds other than their own have made to the QCA. 

Now told through a thematic lens rather than a traditional timeline, the exhibit will be able to evolve and grow without the need for further extensive remodeling. Common Ground also features many stories from voices that were under-represented in the previous exhibit. For instance, women’s stories are more prominently featured, including Marguerite LeClaire’s role in the founding of Davenport and her contribution to the Black Hawk treaty process as a woman of Native American and French descent.

Other areas explore historic episodes via stories of underrepresented populations such as Hispanic Americans and African Americans.  Common Ground also features many digital interactives including clips from the Putnam’s film collection, a community poll where guests can share their thoughts on a variety of topics, and a storytelling booth where visitors can respond to a series of prompts to tell their story, which will be added to the Putnam’s digital archive.   

Putnam staff is now hard at work on a related permanent exhibit that will open in April of 2024. The Quad City Innovators gallery will feature Inventors, Innovators and Trailblazers who hail from our region.

Not only will the exhibit explore the history of QC innovation, but it will also help inspire our region’s next generation of innovators. Longstanding relationships and a history of investments in the Putnam by individuals and partners such as Northwest Bank & Trust Co. have helped the Museum meet our community’s evolving needs for 155 years.