The Greater Southwest Historical Museum is Ardmore's primary repository for the history of Carter County and the surrounding region. Housed in a purpose-built facility, it covers the full sweep of south-central Oklahoma history: the pre-statehood Chickasaw Nation era, the land runs and settlement period, the railroad's arrival in 1887, and the oil booms of the early twentieth century that briefly made Ardmore one of the wealthiest cities in the country per capita.
Exhibits include period clothing, tools, photographs, and documents that bring the ranching and oil-patch culture of the region to life. There is a notable collection relating to early aviation in Oklahoma and a section on the 1895 Santa Fe Depot explosion, a dramatic episode in the city's history. Admission is free or by donation, and the volunteer staff are knowledgeable about local genealogy and history — worth talking to if you have any connection to the region.