Mohave Museum of History & Arts-Kingman

Very friendly staff. The museum gives an interesting look back into the history of the region. The paid admission gives you entry to the Route 66 museum just down the street, as well as a historical home in the area. It was an inexpensive way to spend a couple hours while our truck was repaired.

Museum was ok. Would not go out of way to see it. Volunteer or employee was very nice. She gave us advice on what to see on our way to Grand Canyon.

Nice local/​regional history, incredibly nice staff who shared lots of info and are very knowledgeable. A good stop! Thanks!

Great museum with exceptional staff. Everyone was polite and knowledgeable, and extremely accommodating. Thank you!

Here I go again. Another small museum in a desert city, with miles and miles of miles and miles in all directions from Kingman. This is, for me anyway, a wonderful stop between Las Vegas and Phoenix, Via Wickenburg of course! The mural on the outside is inviting, the docents are so friendly, some may feel like victims, as the docent continues telling history and presidential facts, and how much they love their town, it is very sweet. Now the Museum, Andy Devine (probably unknwn to the current generation f Unilocalers) was born in Kingman and he has a special room of memorabilia. He was quite a star in his era. The complete set of presidential and first lady portraits in excellent. This is only one of 3 (or four depending on who tells the story) sets in the world. With the docent passing interesting tidbits about many of the presidents it really adds to the flavor of this museum. There is a lot of rusty stuff about mining and the railroad era, a move abut one of the last steam engines, history about WWII and the thousands of planes that ended up in Kingman, The entry fee was 3 buck a head and includes 2 other historic places in Kingman. So Stop, Stretch your legs, and enjoy a bit of southwestern history.

The museum looks and feels kind of old fashioned. Maybe it’s meant to be that way or maybe it’s just old.
Just like the Route 66 museum located a couple blocks for here, it’s good to stop by if you got some time to kill on your road trip or whatever plans you got going on. If you wanna get out of your car and walk around for a bit, this is a good place to do so.
But honestly, it was kind of boring. It took us about 45minutes to an hour to walk through this entire museum and I forgot what the hell I even saw in here. All I remember was a room full of paintings of all our past and current presidents + a case full of Christmas ornaments from the White House. I also remember seeing some mining displays. Anytime I see or think of mining, it reminds me of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I even said to myself, «wow I can’t believe the seven dwarfs had to go through this everyday in their little mining tunnels.»
This is a $ 4 admission fee but if you already paid for the Route 66 Museum or vice versa, you can visit either property for free. So basically my boyfriend and I paid $ 4 for each person to visit two museums. Eh… not bad. Got a little bit of a history lesson here in Kingman, AZ.

So, the Mohave Museum of History and Arts is like your aunt that sends you kinda gross sweaters that she made herself.
You know she means well, but it’s still just lame/​icky.
The museum is right off the 40, and I had to stop for gas, so it seemed like a pretty good idea. Oh, my.
The volunteers are super friendly, and you have to be impressed with a place where the volunteers care very much and there’s even a research library with a fulltime librarian on staff as well. Too bad the city of Kingman has 27,000 people and hasn’t been a major city since the gold mining boom ended nearly a century ago…
Where to start? First there’s a «Hall of Presidents,» where a woman has painted likeness of all 43 Presidents and First Ladies. Unfortunately, she died two years ago, so um… what’re we gonna do next year with the new President? Damn.
I got a liberal photo-​op with Reagan (mocking of course), and hurried on to some cool exhibits on mining, some awkward ones on Native Americans, some creepy ones on clothing/​costumes and a creepy but loving tribute to cowboy sidekick actor Andy Devine. Never heard of him? Me either, but the citizens of Kingman adore Devine, who is virtually their only famous denizen and have erected a virtual shrine to the raspy-​voiced actor. I saw EVERYTHING he ever did in the museum and then looked him up online (
). Kinda cool in a sweet, smalltown way. I’m expecting one of these shrines when I pass on, Harbor City, CA, just so you know.
Finally they have a recreated old mining village and an actual 1890’s Santa Fe railroad caboose. Basically a thousand odds and ends. But it did allow me to stretch my legs, even if I felt it wasn’t entirely worth the $ 4 admission fee. In all fairness, the fee also counts for free admission to another local museum based on the historic Route 66, but by then I was over local kitsch.
Good for whiny children, Kingman locals, and people you hate.
Oh, and anyone who knows who Andy Devine is.