Mary Richardson Walker’s life was laid bare for all to see Friday at a new art exhibit.

Walker was a missionary wife who traveled the Oregon Trail in 1838. The exhibit displays her personal artifacts, letters and diary transcripts.

About 50 people gathered at the opening at the Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections at Holland and Terrell Libraries.

Thirty minutes in, MASC Interim Head Trevor Bond made his grand entrance, ringing a bell to get everyone’s attention. He thanked the curators responsible for bringing the show together. Jennifer Thigpen, assistant history professor, is the head curator of the exhibit. Walker’s artifacts were scattered all around campus when she started to put the exhibit together, she said.

“It was an enormously collaborative effort,” she said.

Then Rachael Johnson, a history graduate student, signed on as an intern.

“As we were looking for the items and chasing down leads, Rachael and I just spent time looking at her diaries and reading her letters, trying to get a sense of who she was,” Thigpen said. “This is what historians do, and this is how we reconstruct the past.” It took a lot of time and effort to sort records, Johnson said. Everything came together in January. The exhibit examines Walker’s journey through the trail and her life at the mission. It shows what life in the region was like in the 1840s. Walker’s dairies are displayed, showcasing the struggles of being a wife in the West. The collection displays her wardrobe, including her gowns, bonnets and personal fan. Her items include thimbles used for sewing, drawings she used to entertain herself, and baskets they believe she received through trading with American Indians. The exhibit is open indefinitely during library hours and is free for the public.