(Branson, MO) -- Fans of an American icon are saying happy trails to a piece of history.
   
The Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum has called the Ozarks home since 2003.  But some tough decisions have the family closing the doors.

In 1950, there were more than 2,000 Roy Rogers fan clubs around the globe.  In 2009, a museum lined with artifacts marking rise to fame is having a hard time attracting visitors.

He was the king of cowboys and she was the queen of the West.  But the new age frontier hasn't been friendly to Dale Evans and Roy Rogers.

"It's been years 40 years since Roy and Dale have been on the screen.  There's a generation gap," explains Dustin Roy Rogers, Roy Rogers' grandson.

That gap leaves the Rogers family riding a rough trail.

"This is one of the hardest decisions our family has had to make," says Rogers.

The tough economy and drop in attendance has the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum closing its doors.  The news makes it a sad day for fans like Pat Wallick.

"I saw him sing with the Sons of Pioneers and it was wonderful," remembers Wallick.

 The Arizona native stops at the museum every time she's in Branson.

"I thought it was going to be a whole lot better here," says Wallick.

The Rogers family says, for a time, it was.  Open since 1967, business picked up after moving the museum from California to the Ozarks in 2003. 

"It's like an old pair of boots.  It just fits," says Rogers.

Since 2007, crowds have thinned, but the memories haven't.

"You talk to folks and everyone has a story," says Rogers.

Those stories are tied to the artifacts.  Favorites for Dustin include his grandfather's first guitar.

"If that guitar could talk and tell the stories of what it's played, it would be awesome," says Rogers.

And Trigger, his loyal horse.

Rogers says, "He had his entire career on the back of that horse."

So as fans say happy trails to Dale and Roy's history, the family has a reminder as it rides off into the sunset.

"Artifacts are just things. The memories they have, no one can take that away," says Rogers.

The family hopes the trail won't go far.  Roy Rogers, Jr. and his band with Dustin Roy Rogers will continue a stage act at a yet to be determined location.

For now, shows are booked through the beginning of December.  That's likely when the museum will shut down and the live show will move.

As far as the museum's artifacts, some will likely be sold at large auction.  Other items will be privately placed.  The whole transition has to be worked out by a family trust in the name of Dale and Roy's six surviving children.

The family will keep the public updated on the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum website.