Visitors to the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival can take a trip back to 1940 when the Jeep was born by strolling through the Jeep History Exhibit.

It features an original BRC-40 vehicle and a Bantam factory service truck presented by the Butler County Historical Society.

The exhibit details how the Jeep was born, the key people involved in its creation and a timeline of how it was built and delivered to the Army in just 49 days.

The history exhibit opens at 9 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 13-15.

Another popular festival element next to the historical exhibit is the Jeeps through the Decades display. The theme of that display is restoration and hot rod Jeeps.

The vehicles and information about them will be showcased. Most owners will be available at the display to answer questions and talk about how they transformed their Jeeps.

“The Jeep has evolved so much throughout the past eight decades,” said Bill Ringeisen, Jeeps through the Decades coordinator. “This exhibit showcases everything from the very first Jeeps to those we see on the road today.”

Some highlights of the featured Jeeps include a 1962 M-170 Front Line Ambulance, a 1940 Bantam Business Coupe, a 1943 American Bantam Car Co. trailer, and a 1992 Wrangler YJ Sahara edition that was restored to look like the Jeep in the movie “Jurassic Park.”

Other Jeep models include:

• 1942 GPW military Jeep

• 1945 Civilian T3-C quarter ton Bantam trailer

• 1945 Willy’s MB

• 1946 CJ-2A

• 1948 Willy’s CJ2A

• 1951 Station Wagon 4x4

• 1952 Jeep CJ-3A

• 1953 CJ-3B

• 1954 CJ-3B

• 1960 Jeep DJ3A Surrey

• 1963 CJ-3B

• 1967 M715

• 1988 Comanche MJ

• 2014 Jeep Islander