From dinosaur eggs to antique glassware, the Golden Pioneer Museum has something for all guests
GOLDEN, MO. – The Golden Pioneer Museum, in Golden, Mo., is a fascinating blend of so many unique one-of-a-kind treasures, so many that it’s hard to see it all in one day.
A family was on vacation several years back and stopped at the museum out of curiosity on their way to their vacation destination. They ended up canceling their vacation plans and spent the whole week at the museum, each day, from morning until evening.
Every ounce of space on each inch of wall hosts a wide array of classic treasures. From old-school, popular-themed tin collectible lunch boxes, to full presidential coin collections, to mesmerizing arrowhead collections. to hand-blown glass figurines, and everything imaginable in-between.
The Golden Pioneer Museum opened around 26 years ago. It was bought by the Trail of Tears Museum in Huntsville, Ark., and moved to Golden, Mo., a small town right on the Missouri/Arkansas border.
The museum has been added to several times, and museum owner Winfred Prier has many a story to tell, and is overwhelmingly knowledgeable on each showcase presented in his beloved museum.
He started with the animal tusk display on a recent tour. Several porcelain tusks, notably from elephants and walruses. Even elk contain ivory teeth, some of which were included in this display.
Winfred spoke of his history of owning this treasure trove in southern Missouri. He built the original building and has added on several times, due to the amassing of several new (rather, old) collections over the years.
“People just really like me,” he said when asked about his collections.
Winfred is well-known from in the Purdy/Cassville/Monett area. He is often contacted by local collectors when someone passes away, or they want to donate their collections to someone who will take proper care and share the artifacts with the world. Winfield Prier is just the man.
Winfield pointed out several rare bottles of the once popular Grapette soda in the medicine bottle display. He spoke of his love for the traditional grape soda as a young boy. His father carried it in the East Purdy General Store he owned when Winfred was a young boy.
There was a very large and heavy looking round rock, that resembles a medicine ball, in a nearby display.
Winfield said the Indians used it in a game years ago. They would roll the ball down the hill and try to blast it into hundreds of pieces when it reached the base of the hill.
Another display presented a complete set of Klondike glassware. Mesmerizing, with the golden yellow hue. One wine glass alone is worth over $1,100, which is precisely why everything is safely protected behind thick-paned viewing glass.
Winfield told of an earlier visit to a museum in Chattanooga, Tenn. The interesting and valuable wares were simply sitting on tabletops. Of course, inviting the curious Winfred to pick up and explore each treasure. He was told not to handle the pieces and was nearly kicked out of the museum. Perhaps this is why all displays at the Golden Pioneer Museum are carefully locked behind protective glass.
The museum contains more 20,000 authentic arrowheads and spears. Winfield told of his love for arrowheads, having collected them with his older cousin as young boys. Of course, since his cousin was older, he got to keep their finds. Winfield would eventually come to own one of the largest arrowhead collections in the world, however.
One such collection came out of Kansas and included three generations’ worth of collections. A grandfather, his son, and his grandson painstakingly collected the arrowheads over the course of their lives. The grandson called Winfield 12 or 14 years ago with a proposition. Being a farmer, and with a dreadful summer drought affecting his harvest, he decided to sell the collection of arrowheads to buy hay for his working farm. Each man numbered each new arrowhead found. They kept a detailed journal of the year and where the arrowheads were found, accounting for the small stickered numbers on each individual piece. While the journal is currently missing, the seller of the collection promised to hand it over to the museum once he uncovers it.
A collection of old rusty knives hangs on a wall. These were knives collected when Indians raided farmhouses and wagon trains. They only possessed handmade weapons, so the knives were highly sought after weapons.
Another collection was “Stone Food” from a museum near Tulsa, Okla. The museum owner died, and the family sold the contents. One display is a large banquet table, set exquisitely for a great feast. Each specific food is laid out to resemble a banquet-style opulent affair. The delicious looking food, however, is all hand-made out of rock.
Several heavy-looking black weighted measures sat on the floor of another display. These were used by Doc in the popular show Gunsmoke as a carriage weight.
Another note-worthy collection is….monks. Owned by a woman from Kansas City, Mo., it was of particular interest to Winfred’s granddaughter, who traveled to Europe after graduating college. She visited several monasteries for two weeks, teaching the monks English.
There are numerous other collections the owner has purchased over the years, including a rare Tommy Machine Gun, unique blue Colorado’ dishes, a Daisy collection of double-barreled BB guns, Fenton glassware, detailed artistic pottery (likely 800 to 1,000 years old), 400 glass pitchers from the 1800s, a rare Log Cabin collection of glass dishes, stamped “Hawk” crystal glassware, spike muzzle loader, and natural mineral collections. There are large Canadian taxidermy wolf, and two record-holding 12-point bucks.
A must-see is the world’s largest, intricately designed, 68-pound turquoise carving, acquired from a museum in Huntsville, Ark.
There are several small rooms with Vaseline glass which contains traces of uranium dust. There is a room similar with a black light that is filled with uranium rocks. The dark, coupled with the florescent black lights, sets the uranium rocks aglow. There is a beautiful hand-painted canvas in this room. One portion can only be seen in regular light. It is a painting of Jesus, rescuing a solitary lamb, near the edge of a menacingly steep cliff. When the lights go out and the black light comes to life, the other portion of the painting is mysteriously revealed. It shows the same Jesus, this time lovingly holding the same lamb in His arms, after having rescued it from the brink of disaster. This room is both captivating and spiritually mesmerizing!
A few other items that stood out. One was a nest of dinosaur eggs. There are only four known in the world to have more than 25 eggs. The one showcased at the Golden Pioneer Museum has 29 eggs. The museum hosts a rare collection of beautiful butter dishes. One in particular, a distinctive blue color with a precise painting on the front, is the only known complete set in the world.
Yet another rare collection hosted beautiful glass car vases, which were used in early-model, high end, expensive vehicles. Folks would fill the vases with fresh flowers, filling the car with a pleasantly fresh aroma. Modern Volkswagen Beetles have continued this tradition today, with a vase-like enclosure for a daisy or other friendly flower, sitting next to the steering column.
This museum is tucked off Highway 86 leading into Golden, Mo.. From the outside, it looks like a warehouse of antiques. When visitors step through the front doors, however, they will soon discover it is unlike any experience you are likely to have anywhere else in the world. Plan to visit two or three times to see everything and fully appreciate the historic, rare, unique significance of each lovingly kept and carefully tended display. The museum is free to enter, but donations are always welcome.
