SOUTH TEXAS HERITAGE

The historic Chisholm Trail, the route used in the late 1800s by cattlemen to drive their livestock from Texas to the railway shipping points in Kansas, traveled directly through Brooks County, and Falfurrias. Falfurrias is home to the Heritage Museum, located along the Chisholm Trail, where the frontier heritage of the region has been preserved in artifacts, relics, records, pictures, maps, and personal papers of the early Brooks County pioneers. Exhibits include those dedicated to settlers like Jose M. “Chema” Alaniz, Sulema B. Garza, and Don Pedro Jaramillo, the south Texas faith healer (called a curandero) who traveled the region dispensing cures in the late 1800s. The museum also features several collections of unusual objects like antique appliances and office equipment. The museum’s focus on early ranching includes a collection of cattle brands, saddles, and hats. Of special interest to historians, the museum maintains an archive of approximately 99,000 photo negatives, known as the Carol Dryden Collection, featuring photographs of people and places from Falfurrias, Premont, Encino, Benavides, and Hebbronville taken by Brooks County photographer Carol Dryden during the mid-20th century.

Watch our Vaqueros of South Texas 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: