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You are here: Home / Artfully Abilene / Art, History, Heritage and More

Art, History, Heritage and More

May 6, 2019 Leave a Comment

The National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature will be buzzing with activity during the Children’s Art & Literacy Festival June 6-8, but there are a variety of other museums to explore in Abilene and the surrounding area.

Nearly any kind of museum imaginable is within a short driving distance from downtown Abilene. All kinds of history museums are available, including local history in many small towns around Abilene, frontier history at Frontier Texas and the Taylor County History Center in Abilene and Fort Chadbourne in Bronte, World War II history at the 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum in Abilene, and WWII women pilots history at the National WASP Museum in Sweetwater.

If art museums interested you, the Abilene area has plenty of those, too, including The Grace Museum and the Center for Contemporary Arts in downtown Abilene. The Old Jail Art Museum in nearby Albany is a world-class museum housed partly in the restored 19th century jail.

Museums are among the many travel destinations for tourists coming to this part of Texas, said Kathy Keane, executive director of the Texas Midwest Community Network, an organization of communities and counties in the Abilene area.

“From the rich heritage of the western frontier to the eyewitness accounts of WWII women pilots, the Texas Midwest region offers visitors a unique opportunity to experience the lives of the people and events upon which Texas was built,” Keane said. “The hope for these diverse collections is to preserve our history while ensuring future generations understand and appreciate the achievements of those who came before them.”

The Texas Midwest Community Network publishes a travel guide, which includes information on museums, art galleries, sports venues, eating places, and much more in the Abilene area. The 2019 version can be found by clicking on the travel guide icon on the TMCN website, www.tmcn.org.

Below is a listing of many of the museums in Abilene and the region, including some from the Texas Midwest Community Network travel guide.

ABILENE

Center for Contemporary Arts

220 Cypress St. 79601

(325) 677-8389

www.center-arts.com

Curtis House Cultural Center

A museum and educational center focusing on the contributions of African-Americans to Abilene’s history

630 Washington St.

325-701-7804 or 325-518-4604

11 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Admission by donation

The Discovery Center

Focuses on creationism and features an exhibit titled “Miracle of Israel”

810 Butternut 79602

(325) 673-5050

www.evidences.org

Frontier Texas!

625 N. First St. 79601

(325) 437-2800

www.frontiertexas.com

The Grace Museum

Art, history, and children’s museum housed in the restored Grace Hotel

102 Cypress St. 79601

(325) 673-4587

www.thegracemuseum.org



National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature

102 Cedar St. 79601

(325) 673-4586

www.nccil.org

Taylor County History Center / Buffalo Gap Historic Village

133 N. William St.

Buffalo Gap, TX 79508

(325) 572-3365

www.taylorcountyhistorycenter.com

 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum

1289 N. Second St. 79601

(325) 677-6515

www.12tharmoredmuseum.com

ALBANY

The Old Jail Art Center

201 S. 2nd (Hwy 6 S.)

325-762-2269

Tues-Sat 10-5, Sun 2-5, closed Mon and major holidays

free admission; nationally accredited art museum housed in the county’s first jail building. They show DVD’s with history of the Fort Griffin Fandangle and Shackelford County. Also houses the county’s historical archives.

Flying A’s Hometown Classics Car Museum

100 S. Main Street

325-338-4072

Call for hours; local collectors display a rotating exhibit of classic cars, motorcycles, motorbikes, signage and other automotive memorabilia.

Shackelford County Courthouse

225 S Main Street

325-762-2232

Mon–Fri 8-5

Built in 1883 the courthouse is the oldest in Texas in continuous use as a seat of government. The building was restored in 2002. Self-guided tours available during business hours, guided tours available upon request.

ANSON

Anson-Jones Museum

1300 Ave K

325-823-3883

Sat-Sun 2-4, miniature reproduction of 1908 Town Square, doll collection, equipment and furnishings of turn-of-the-century trade and commerce.

BAIRD

Callahan County Pioneer Museum

Basement of County Courthouse

Mon-Fri 1-5

T&P Depot Visitor Center & Transportation Museum

100 Market St.

Tues-Fri 10-2

Exhibits highlight transportation in Callahan Country from the Western Cattle Trail to the T&P Railroad to the Bankhead National Highway

BRECKENRIDGE

Swenson Memorial Museum and J.D. Sanderfer Oil Annex

116 West Walker,

Tues-Fri 10-5; Sat 10-2

1800’s artifacts, Oil Annex with extensive historical collection from the Boom Town Days to present.

BRONTE

Fort Chadbourne Museum

12 miles north of Bronte on Hwy 277

Established in 1852, Fort Chadbourne offers 1850’s era military and Indian artifacts, antique firearms, theater, and Medal of Honor tribute.

Tues-Sat 8-5.

Call 325-743- 2555 or 325-473-5311 for more information.

Free admission; donations accepted. www.fortchadbourne.org

CISCO

Conrad Hilton Museum

309 Conrad Hilton Ave

254-442-2537

Weekdays 9-12 & Sun 1-5., historical items from establishment of Cisco and Eastland County, pictorial presentation of Conrad Hilton’s life, video exhibit, Cisco “world’s largest swimming pool” pictorial

Lela Latch Lloyd Museum

116 W. 7th St.

Fri-Sat 1-5 p.m.

Historic city hall built in 1915, area artifacts, restored vaudeville theater located upstairs

CLYDE

History of Clyde Gallery

125 Oak St.

325-893-5315

Walk-through exhibits detailing what it was like to live, work, and worship in Clyde from the earliest settlers

Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-noon, or by appointment in the afternoon.

COLEMAN

Coleman Museum and Art Gallery at Heritage Hall

400 W. College St.

325-625-2000

Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

CROSS PLAINS

Robert E. Howard Museum

625 W. Hwy 36

254-725-4993, 254-725-6562 or 254-725-9480; open by appointment

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, furnishings, books and other belongings of Robert E. Howard, creator of “Conan the Barbarian.”

Woody’s Class Cars & Baseball Museum

500 SW Fifth St.

A museum created by Patti and Danny Lee “Woody” Wood to honor cars and baseball. Woody died in 2016.

Call or email for hours: 254-725-4042 or info@woodysmuseum.com

www.woodysmuseum.com

EASTLAND

Eastland County Museum

112 S. Seaman

254-631-0437

Historic building was the Eastland National Bank, fully restored to the original architectural style.

Eastland County Jail Museum

200 N. Lamar

254-629-1774

Tours are conducted by the Sheriff’s Department.

Austin McCloud Appeals Court Museum

101 S. Lamar

254-631-0311, tours by appointment

Eastland County’s first courthouse, believed to be the oldest building in Eastland, Native American history.

HAMLIN

Rath’s Trail Headquarters Museum/Hamlin Archives

245 S. Central Avenue

325-576-3501

Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – noon; Thursday, 9 a.m. – noon, 1-3 p.m.

Houses a small exhibit displaying artifacts from Rath City, local historical documents, photographs and Hamlin newspaper microfilm for research.

MERKEL

Merkel Area Historical Museum

1501 N. 7th

325-928-9912

SANTA ANNA

Santa Anna Museum/Visitors Center

704 Wallis Ave.

STAMFORD

Cowboy Country Museum

113 S. Wetherbee (east side of the square)

325-773-2500

SWEETWATER

National WASP WWII Museum

210 Loop 170 (4 miles west of downtown)

Wednesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sun 1-5 p.m.

Showcases history of Women Airforce Service Pilots through state-of-the-art educational experiences. Features eyewitness accounts of the WASP courage, service and sacrifice, worldwide reunion and classic airplane fly-in commemorates the WASP each Memorial Day weekend. www.waspmuseum.org

Pioneer Museum

610 E. 3rd St.

325-235-8547

Tuesday – Saturday, 1-5 p.m.

TYE

Julian Morgan Museum

South St. and Morgan, open by appointment

325-692-2679

WINTERS

Z.I. Hale Museum

242 W. Dale St.

325-754-2036

Sat 1-5

Local history, agricultural exhibit, restored Rock Hotel, Rogers Hornsby Exhibit, restored Blue Gap Post Office, log cabin built in 1878.

Rock Hotel Heritage Center

Next door to the Z.I. Hale Museum, built in 1909, houses several exhibits on second floor

including the Rogers Hornsby Exhibit of Baseball Hall-of-Famer Rogers Hornsby who was born in Winters in 1896.

Gus Pruser Agricultural Exhibit

Located across from the Z.I. Hale Museum and named for the farmer, builder and inventor who

constructed the building in 1927. Pruser built the first patented cotton picker in the U.S. in 1912.

Filed Under: Artfully Abilene, Center for Contemporary Art, Culture, Featured Story, NCCIL Tagged With: Artfully Abilene, feature, featured

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