MA FERGUSON, EARLY MAN, AND ARTIST’S IMPRESSIONS

The Bell County Museum counts over 12,000 objects in its collection related to the Central Texas region, all housed in a renovated, restored, newly constructed, and historically adapted site. The museum’s architects combined two existing historic buildings from different eras and design styles with an ultra-modern glass façade and entryway, creating a perfect marriage between past and present. Inside, important historical artifacts like the Miriam A. Ferguson Collection, chronicling the life of the first female Governor of Texas through photographs, personal correspondence and possessions, share exhibition space with murals and films telling the Gault Site archeological story of the earliest humans in the Americas.

Other exhibitions include an entire 1850’s log cabin, dismantled at its original location then re-installed in the museum, and the highly-interactive “Passport Through Time”, an award-winning guide through Bell County’s history. Art enthusiasts, however, should put the museum’s stunning “Gleaners of the South” by Texas Regionalist Ella K. Mewhinney at the top of their “must-see” list. The oil on canvas represents a beautiful study in early American impressionism, a style often favored by Mewhinney and other Texas Regionalists of the early 20th century.

Watch our Chisholm Trail Rail Car video to learn more about the Chisholm Trail in Texas. This video was produced for inclusion in our Chisholm Trail mobile tour found in our Texas Time Travel Tours mobile app. Download the app for more videos and travel information: