Crossroads

Crossroads in Alabama

The Smithsonian traveling exhibit Crossroads: Change in Rural America comes to Alabama in 2023-2024, thanks to a partnership between the Alabama Humanities Alliance and the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street program.

Crossroads looks at the remarkable evolution in rural life over the past century — and explores how Americans have responded and adapted. The exhibition will prompt discussions about what happened when America’s rural population became a minority of the country’s population and the ripple effects that occurred.

Here in Alabama, five host communities will put Crossroads on display, complementing the national exhibit with local programming that highlights their own past — and future. 

Museum on Main Street

Museum on Main Street is part of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. The program provides access to the Smithsonian for small-town American through traveling museum exhibitions, research, educational resources, and public programming.

Since 1997, the Alabama Humanities Alliance has partnered with the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street to bring 11 national exhibits to Alabama — and to 57 communities across the state.