Gonzales Memorial Museum
The Immortal 32 refers to a group of volunteers who traveled from Gonzales to reinforce the doomed garrison of Texian soldiers at the Alamo.
The Gonzales Memorial Museum honors these men and exhibits numerous Revolutionary displays and artifacts, including the famous “Come and Take It” cannon.
The museum building was constructed in the 1930s under the Texas Centennial Commission. The art deco style was intended to bring a “modern” look to Texas – while simultaneously commemorating Texan history.
HEART OF THE CENTENNIAL
In November of 1935, the state’s year-long centennial celebrations kicked-off in Gonzales. This Independence Trail community hadn’t quite completed its Gonzales Memorial Museum, a project funded by the centennial’s Commission of Control, the agency charged with helping to create permanent memorials across the state to commemorate the anniversary. But celebrations began on schedule anyway. Today, the Gonzales Memorial Museum, an elegant Art Deco complex includes two exhibition wings, an outdoor 500-seat amphitheater, and reflecting pool designed by the San Antonio architectural firm of Phelps and Dewees. The complex is constructed of shell limestone (a sedimentary rock composed of calcium carbonate) trimmed in Cordova cream limestone (also a local limestone characterized by the voids left by fossil shells). The central exterior entry features a monument comprised of pink granite and a bronze sculpture by artist Raoul Josset.
Exhibits inside the museum include what many believe to be the original “Come and Take It” cannon, object of contention between Texian settlers and the Mexican government and one that inspired a series of confrontational events that helped ignite the Texas Revolution. Elsewhere in the museum, exhibits include period rifles, ammunition, uniforms, and a macabre favorite – a physician’s amputation kit. Other objects and artifacts reflect early life in Gonzales, including vintage clothing, household goods, and archival photographs, and all help tell the story of this community, a pillar in the state’s historic march towards independence.