Hanging Out in Cool Museums
Museums
By PA Geddie
Upper East Side Texas is home to several trip-worthy museums that offer fun and meaningful things to see in cool spaces. From art, to history, and the quirky and unusual, these explorations are sure to please visitors of all ages.
BONHAM
Sam Rayburn Library
800 W. Sam Rayburn Dr.
Bonham, TX 75418
(903) 583-2455
briscoecenter.org/sam-rayburn-museum/
A museum honors Sam Rayburn, the longest-serving Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Exhibits about his life and career are featured in the museum and in the modest wood-frame farmhouse Rayburn built in 1916. It contains original furnishings and is where he lived until his death in 1961.
Fannin County Museum of History
1 N. Main St.
Bonham, TX 75418
(903) 583-8042
The Fannin County Museum of History has exhibits about the area’s early beginnings, all housed in a restored 1900 Texas and Pacific Railway depot.
CARTHAGE
Texas Country Music Hall of Fame & Tex Ritter Museum
310 W. Panola
Carthage, TX 75633
(903) 694-9561
The Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Carthage honors those born in Texas who made outstanding contributions to country music. Within the 13,000-square-foot building are exhibitions and fun artifacts that immerse visitors into a bygone era, jukebox and all.
An exhibit dedicated to Panola County-born Tex Ritter takes up about a quarter of the building space. It depicts the story of his life from farm boy to popular music icon and includes many collections of his cowboy tunes and his work on Broadway, radio, and in film.
Fellow Panola County famous son Jim Reeves is also honored at the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame as well as another East Texan, the “Cherokee Cowboy,” Ray Price.
COMMERCE
Northeast Texas Children’s Museum
100 Maple Street
Commerce, TX 75428
(903) 886-6055
With 14,000 or more square feet of hands-on activities the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum in Commerce makes for a great afternoon. The museum promises to inspire imagination, enhance creativity, and build children’s confidence. There’s the hospital area with scrubs and examining table, a pretend grocery area, a four-seat airplane (without the wings), a pretend rocket ship, a fake cow, a real puppet theater, stage area, ancient Egyptian display, a party room, and more. The museum hosts field trips, workshops, and special events for such holidays as Cinco de Mayo and Day of the Dead. The museum’s exhibits are aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge Skills (TEKS) program.
GRAND SALINE
Salt Palace Museum
100 West Garland Street
Grand Saline, TX 75140
(903) 962-5631
Grand Saline has the largest, purest salt dome in America — one of nine mining sites for Morton Salt. Producing 22 tons of salt every hour, the salt mine goes down as far as 20,000 feet. Museum officials said miners have currently only made it down about 700 feet because salt is so dense. Reportedly, there’s enough salt there to supply the needs of the whole country. Those buying a pretzel with rock salt on it can probably bank on it coming from Grand Saline.
The Salt Palace pays tribute to the mine; the building is made of rock salt. The small museum gathers history about salt mining dating back to the activities of the Caddo Indians in 800 AD, and a short film shows the inside of the dome and details how Morton mines and packages its salt. Many visitors find it hard to resist licking the building.
Also inside the Salt Palace is a display on the history of native son and pioneer aviator Wiley Post with photographs and a small model of his famous plane “The Winnie Mae.” Post set two world records by circling the globe in the aircraft in 1931 and 1933. Music performer Chris Tomlin also hails from Grand Saline and a display in the museum keeps up with his roots and success.
GREENVILLE
Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum
600 I-30 Frontage Road #4309
Greenville, TX 75401
(903) 450-4502
One can spend hours immersing themselves in the many worlds inside the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum in Greenville. From the unusual to heroic, it’s an experience visitors are not likely to forget. Extensive, detailed exhibits show the region’s history in cotton and military heroes including hometown hero Audie Murphy.
The museum houses the wooden leg of the late Monty Stratton. He lived in Greenville and was a major league baseball pitcher with the Chicago White Sox until an accident in 1938. He was hunting rabbits on his family farm when he fell and his shotgun discharged, striking him in his right leg. The pellets damaged a main artery enough to require amputation the next day. After he was fitted with a wooden leg, Stratton worked with the White Sox for a while as a coach and practice pitcher. He later organized a semipro baseball team in Greenville and made many contributions to the town. His life is depicted in the 1949 Academy Award-winning film The Stratton Story, starring Jimmy Stewart. He died in 1982 due to cancer and is buried in Memoryland Memorial Park in Greenville.
Also in the museum is a decorative wreath made of human hair. According to the museum, it was popular in the mid to late 1800s for people to save locks of hair from family members when they passed away, then make something out of it as a memorial to them. Sometimes living family or friends would donate locks of their hair to add to the creation. The one on display in Greenville was made by Mrs. H.T. Weathers in 1884. It is almost completely made of hair with the exception of some tiny wire that helps hold it together.
This summer the museum is hosting two World War II history lectures with prominent military historians.
HENDERSON
Rusk County Depot Museum
514 N. High St.
Henderson, TX 75652
(903) 657-4303
The five-acre Rusk County Depot Museum complex is home to more than a dozen restored historic structures, including a cotton gin, carousel, train caboose, print shop, and a dry goods store.
It also has the only outhouse in Texas with a state historical marker. Inside the museum are Native American artifacts, an original covered wagon, a one-room schoolhouse, and a historic kitchen.
A Children’s Discovery Center offers hands-on activities encouraging developmental growth for young ones.
JACKSONVILLE
Vanishing Texana Museum
302 S. Bolton St.
Jacksonville, TX 75766
(903) 373-9165
jacksonvilletx.org/415/Vanishing-Texana-Museum
The Vanishing Texana Museum gives visitors some idea of the character of the town and surrounding area — local leaders don’t let a little thing like city limits determine their boundaries and welcome people and artifacts from all over the world. The museum houses an impressive collection of regional antiquities and curiosities dating back from 1830 through 1950 and from foreign regions as far back as 238 CE. Included in the displays are Native Indian relics, farm equipment, photographs, dolls, and typewriters. An antique coin exhibition showcases currency hailing from the Roman Empire.
JEFFERSON
Museum of Measurement and Time
301 North Polk Street
Jefferson, TX 75657
(903) 665-6668
museumofmeasurementandtime.org
Time doesn’t stand still at the Museum of Measurement and Time. The collection includes more than400 clocks dating back to the 1700s. What began as a personal collection curated by Johnny and Edith Ingram — Jefferson residents since the early 1980s — is now an impressive and growing exhibit that opened to the public in 2010. Including most of America’s major clock makers, the collection also features German, English, and other international models — plus a small assortment of unique cuckoo clocks and tall grandfather clocks. Other items sure to please science nerds include surveying tools and measuring devices like scales, barometers, and various meters. An unexpected bonus is a 1,000-set exhibit of playful and ornate salt and pepper shakers. With practically every animal, food, and seasonal motif imaginable, the salt and pepper shaker sets represent every state and come in glass, ceramic, metal, and wood designs.
Scarlett O’Hardy’s Gone With the Wind Museum
408 E. Taylor St.
Jefferson, TX 75657
(903) 665-1939
A shrine to the 1936 Pulitzer Prize winning novel and the Academy Award winning movie Gone with the Wind, Scarlett O’Hardy’s Gone with the Wind Museum in Jefferson fills 1,700 square feet with dedicated displays that celebrate everything Tara. Meticulous reproductions of Scarlett’s green drapery dress and her red burgundy “hussy dress” mix with dozens of items of movie memorabilia. Visitors take self-guided tours to linger over novelties such as a trio of display cases devoted to the novel (and including a first edition personally autographed copy by author Margaret Mitchell), a child-like mannequin of Cammie King as Bonnie Blue Butler, a selection of foreign editions of the novel, a dollhouse duplicating Twelve Oaks (the Wilkes’ plantation), an ornate GWTW-themed Christmas tree, and autographs of a long list of GWTW stars. Opened since 1998, the museum was founded by owner Bobbie Hardy, who amassed an impressive collection of GWTW goods over three decades and continued adding to it after opening her museum.
Jefferson Historical Museum
223 W. Austin St.
Jefferson, TX 75657
(903) 665-2775
Located in a Carnegie library building, the Jefferson Historical Museum is home to many items from Jefferson and Marion County’s past. Exhibits include an African-American history room, and displays for Jewish heritage, Diamond Bessie, and Caddo Indians. There’s also a replica train depot behind the museum with a large train replica.
KILGORE
Rangerette Showcase & Museum
1100 Broadway Blvd.
Kilgore, TX 75662
(903) 983-8265
On the campus of Kilgore College is the Rangerette Showcase & Museum, featuring displays of the famous dance drill team that brought “show business” to the football gridiron.
East Texas Oil Museum
1301 S. Henderson Blvd.
Kilgore, TX 75662
(903) 983-8295
www.easttexasoilmuseum.kilgore.edu
The East Texas Oil Museum houses the authentic recreation of oil discovery and production in the early 1930s from the largest oil field inside U.S. boundaries. Visitors see the people, their towns, their personal habits, their tools and their pastimes — all colorfully depicted in dioramas, movies, sound presentations and actual antiques donated by East Texas citizens.
LONGVIEW
Longview Museum of Fine Arts
215 E. Tyler Street
Longview, TX 75601
(903) 753-8103
Since its founding in 1958, the Longview Museum of Fine Arts has served as a cultural cornerstone for East Texas, connecting communities through exhibitions, education, and artistic expression. This summer see Native Perspectives: America 250, an exhibition celebrating indigenous cultures from Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Their concert series features Cole Allen on August 15.
Gregg County Historical Museum
214 N. Fredonia St.
Longview, TX 75601
(903) 753-5840
The Gregg County Historical Museum has ongoing and special exhibitions, extensive collections, education programs, and special events and activities throughout the year.
MINEOLA
Mineola Historical Museum
114 N. Pacific St.
Mineola, TX 75773
(903) 569-2631
The Mineola Historical Museum has more than 35 exhibits about the history to the town in a former post office constructed in 1937. Some of the exhibits in its more than 4,200 square feet a detailed mural, a replica of the Select Theater; a telegraph office; original post office boxes; mid-century doctor and exist offices; school memorabilia; watermelon festivals and queens; and military collections.
Depot Museum
115 Front Street
Mineola, TX 75773
(903) 569-6551
The railway station where Amtrak Texas Eagle passenger trains still stop twice a day is the historic train depot that features a small-scale version of a train that people can operate with the push of a button and a mini-train ride for all ages.
MOUNT PLEASANT
Mount Pleasant Historical Museum
601 N. Madison Ave.
Mount Pleasant, TX 75455
(903) 575-4180
The Mount Pleasant Historical Museum (located in the public library) features displays, artifacts, and interactive elements illustrating the rich history of the area. One highlight is a Caddo grass hut, depicting the typical homes of the first dwellers. The library extends into a “explorium” specially designed for children.
Mid America Flight Museum
602 Mike Hall Pkwy.
Mount Pleasant, TX 75455
(903) 573-2888
Most of the airplanes in the museum fly regularly with projects that honor veterans, mentor kids, preserve aviation history, and provide opportunities for the community.
MOUNT VERNON
Fire Station Museum
107 Scott Street
Mount Vernon, TX 75457
(903) 537-4760
Housed in a 1940 structure, the Fire Station Museum features permanent and changing exhibits, including one about its famous native son, Dallas Cowboys quarterback, sports commentator, and actor Don Meredith. There’s also a quirky exhibit of rare bird eggs clustered in a small room in MountVernon’s Fire Station Museum. All of the eggs date back more than 100 years and some go back much further, plus a couple of specimens represent now extinct species like the Passenger Pigeon, Carolina Parakeet, and Heath Hen. The Fire Station Museum also holds all manner of Native American artifacts and arrow heads as well as 47 boxes of mounted butterflies.
PALESTINE
Railroad Heritage Center
808 W. Oak St.
Palestine, TX 75801
(903) 393-4014
History steams into downtown at the Railroad Heritage Center. Relish the romance of the rails as depicted by the Domis Model RR and enjoy the various exhibits that illustrate many facets of railroading.
Curious Museum
619 W. Oak St.
Palestine, TX 75801
(903) 221-0118
The Curious Museum is an exciting, hands-on museum designed for those with curious minds. The museum promotes creative and innovative thinking skills and engages preschoolers through adults in a fun, engaging, and educational format.
PITTSBURG
Northeast Texas Rural Heritage Center and Museum
204 W. Marshall St.
Pittsburg, TX 75686
(903) 946-3243
Northeast Texas Rural Heritage Center and Museum features historic artifacts and its best-known display, a one-third sized replica of the Ezekiel Airship. Said to have flown briefly a year before the Wright brothers’ first flight, the original machine was destroyed in a rail accident on the way to the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904.
ROYSE CITY
Zaner Robinson Historical Museum
124 S. Arch St.
Royse City, TX 75189
(972) 635-7438
The Zaner Robinson Historical Museum illustrates early European settlers’ lives on the Blackland Prairie through the boom years (1920-1960s). Enclosed in a mid-1920s building, the museum is a recorded Texas Historic Landmark and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
San Augustine
Mission Dolores State Historic Site
701 S. Broadway St.
San Augustine, TX 75972
(936) 275-3815
thc.texas.gov/historic-sites/mission-dolores
Mission Dolores State Historic Site is a popular stop along the El Camino Real de los Tejas, more simply called King’s Highway or the Royal Road. The Spaniards established Mission Dolores near present-day San Augustine in 1717. There, visitors learn important history about the Native American experience with the earliest European settlers in Texas. Originally called Mission Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de los Ais, the property also has a campground, picnic area, disc golf course, and group pavilions.
SULPHUR SPRINGS
Southwest Dairy Museum
1210 Houston
Sulphur Springs, TX 75482
(903) 439-6455
The Southwest Dairy Museum in Sulphur Springs got its start in 1982 as the brainchild of several key figures in The Southwest Dairy Farmers alliance to preserve artifacts and historical documents that share the history of the Southwestern dairy industry. The 10,000 square foot facility is a typical dairy-farm style building featuring a five-story silo that houses a conference room. One of the main exhibits is a series of historical vignettes that show the life of a dairy farm family before electricity came to rural America.
Leo St. Clair Music Box Collection
611 N. Davis St.
Sulphur Springs, TX
(903) 885-4926
The Leo St. Clair Music Box Collection showcased at the Sulphur Springs Public Library is an unexpected attraction certain to stimulate fun dinner conversations. With more than 200 music boxes, the collection includes many unique, ornate, and antique styles, some of which were reportedly owned by movie stars and soldiers. The collection comes from early 20th century local resident Leo St. Clair.Peruse during a routine library visit or call ahead to arrange a guided 40-minute tour.
TERRELL
Terrell Heritage Museum
207 N. Frances St.
Terrell, TX 75160
(972) 524-6082
The Terrell Heritage Museum, is in a Carnegie Library building built in 1904, and features artifacts from the town’s rich history. The museum also maintains archives and an extensive photograph collection available to researchers.
No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum
119 Silent Wings Blvd.
Terrell, TX 75160
(972) 551-1122
A must-see in Terrell is the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum, the first and largest training school for British cadets learning to fly during World War II. The museum holds hundreds of historical items and education materials in cooperation with the British commonwealth and American government.
TEXARKANA
Texarkana Regional Arts Center
321 W. 4th St.
Texarkana, TX 75501
(903) 792-8681
A premier art gallery in a repurposed old courthouse.
TYLER
Tyler Museum of Art
1300 South Mahon
Tyler, TX 75701
(903) 595-1001
Tyler Museum of Art, located on the Tyler Junior College campus, has several exhibitions taking place at a time. This summer, see At 55, an exhibition of recent acquisitions and collection highlights on display through August 9.
Encased: Jessica Ninci is on view in the TMA lobby through August 30. The Galveston-based ceramist creates art from items she gathered along the coastline.
Keith Carter’s Peaceable Kingdom is on exhibit through September 26. It features a selection of the photographer’s images taken through the last few decades exploring the animal kingdom and its inhabitants.
Summer Studios take place at TMA from noon to 3 p.m. every Wednesday in July with art activities for all ages and light refreshments. This is a come and go event and children must be accompanied at all times. Admission to the museum is free on Wednesdays in July.
Tyler Rose Museum
420 Rose Park Dr.
Tyler, TX 75702
(903) 597-3130
The Tyler Rose Museum houses history and memorabilia featuring fabulous costumes and items acquired since the first Texas Rose Festival in 1933.
WINNSBORO
Winnsboro Center for the Arts
200 Market St.
Winnsboro, TX 75494
(903) 342-0686
Art exhibitions are ongoing throughout the year at WCA. This summer see Women in the Arts through September 19.
Winnsboro Historical Museum
100 E. Broadway St.
Winnsboro, TX 75494
(903) 347-2668
Built in 1908, the Winnsboro Depot Center at the corner of Main and Broadway Streets reminds guests of the town’s rich railroad history. Fully restored, it houses offices and meeting rooms for area organizations and the Winnsboro Historical Museum. As the railroad made its way to Winnsboro in the late 1800s, it became a shipping center for timber and agricultural commodities. Loggers looking for entertainment led to the opening of saloons and gambling halls along the alley street north of the depot. They called it “The Bowery.” Stories of that era are still recounted today and sometimes depicted in historical re-enactments, as are later visits from the notorious crime duo Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.