Museums
Museums and the artifacts they keep safe help bridge the span between past and present, ancient and modern, and between foreign cultures and our own.
Texas History Comes Alive
In doing so, they reveal much about who we are in the context of the big picture. But when we want to dig deeper and discover the details about our own local heritage and origins, we plan a trip to our hometown historical museum.
Almost every community in the state hosts a historical museum where artifacts and stories from the surrounding region reveal the nuances of who we have become, both as individuals and as a distinctly Texan community. They also often harbor the how’s and why’s as well. The hometown historical museum is the perfect place to learn about your family, your neighbors, your community, and your roots. It serves as archive, library, and encyclopedia, as center for celebration and revelation, and a constant in a fast-changing world where proof of our past resides, secure and discoverable.
Read more about museums in the Handbook of Texas Online.
Featured Museums
Explore Museums
Plains Trail Region
Old Jail Museum
Lone Star and Broadway Streets Silverton, TX 79257 (806) 823-2132 Website
Plains Trail Region
Old Mobeetie Jail Museum
Olaughlin Street Mobeetie, TX 79061 (806) 845-2028 Website
Pecos Trail Region
Old Pecos County Jail
101 West Gallagher Street Fort Stockton, TX 79735 (432) 336-6316 Website
Forts Trail Region
Old Post Office Museum & Art Center
510 Third Street Graham, TX 76450 (940) 549-1470 Website
Lakes Trail Region
Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture / 1892 Dallas County Courthouse
100 South Houston Street Dallas, TX 75202 (214) 745-1100 Website
Pecos Trail Region
Old Sonora Ice House Ranch Museum
206 S. Water Street Sonora, TX 76950 (325) 387-3754 Website
Plains Trail Region
Oldham County Heritage Farm and Ranch Museum
1100 Main Street Vega, TX 79092 (806) 267-2398 Website
Plains Trail Region
OS Ranch Museum and Fine Art Gallery
127 East Main Street Post, TX 79356 (806) 495-3570 Website
Plains Trail Region
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum — Temporarily Closed
2503 4th Avenue Canyon, TX 79015 (806) 651-2244 Website
Plains Trail Region
Parmer County Pioneer Heritage Museum
218 W. 6th Friona, TX 79035 (806) 250-5212 Website
Forest Trail Region
Patricia Huffman Smith Columbia Space Shuttle Museum
375 Sabine Street, Unit B Hemphill, TX 75948 (409) 787-4827 Website
Lakes Trail Region
Pearce Museum at Navarro College
3100 W. Collin St Corsicana, TX 75110 (903) 875-7438 Website
Pecos Trail Region
Permian Basin Petroleum Museum
1500 I-20 west Midland, TX 79701 (432) 683-4403 Website
Lakes Trail Region
Perot Museum of Nature and Science
2201 N. Field Street Dallas, TX 75201 (214) 428-5555 Website
Hill Country Trail Region
The Pioneer Museum
325 West Main Street Fredericksburg, TX 78624 (830) 990-8441 Website
Independence Trail Region
Pioneer Village Living History Center
2122 North St. Joseph Gonzales, TX 78629 (830) 672-2157 Website
Forest Trail Region
Polk County Memorial Museum
514 West Mill Street Livingston, TX 77351 (936) 327-8192 Website
Forest Trail Region
Pompeiian Villa
1953 Lakeshore Drive Port Arthur, TX 77640 (409) 982-7000 Website
Tropical Trail Region
Port Aransas Museum
101 East Brundrett Avenue Port Aransas, TX 78373 (361) 749-3800 Website
Tropical Trail Region
Port Isabel Historical Museum
317 East Railroad Avenue Port Isabel, TX 78578 (956) 943-7602 Website
Tropical Trail Region
Port Isabel Lighthouse State Historic Site
421 East Queen Isabella Blvd Port Isabel, TX 78578 (956) 943-2262 Website
Hill Country Trail Region
Pound House Farmstead and Museum
570 Founders Park Rd Dripping Springs, TX 78620 (512) 858-2030 Website
Independence Trail Region
Presidio La Bahia State Historic Site
217 Loop 71 Goliad, TX 77963 (361) 645-3752 Website
Independence Trail Region
The Printing Museum
1324 W. Clay Street Houston, TX 77019 (713) 522-4652 Website
Plains Trail Region
Quanah, Acme & Pacific Railway Depot Museum
100 Mercer Street Quanah, TX 79252 (940) 663-5272
Lakes Trail Region
Railroad and Cultural Heritage Museum
105 NE Main Street Ennis, TX 75119 (972) 875-1901 Website
Mountain Trail Region
Railroad and Transportation Museum of El Paso
400 West San Antonio Avenue El Paso, TX 79901 (915) 422-3420
Mountain Trail Region
Railroad Depot Hudspeth County Museum
241 W El Paso St Sierra Blanca, TX 79851 (915) 986-2407
Forts Trail Region
Railway Museum of San Angelo
703 S. Chadbourne St. San Angelo, TX 76903 325-486-2140 (Saturdays 10-4) Website
Forest Trail Region
Rangerette Showcase and Museum
1100 Broadway Kilgore, TX 75662 (903) 983-8265 Website
Pecos Trail Region
Rankin Museum
101 West Main Street Inside Yates Hotel Rankin, TX 79778 (432) 693-2758
Pecos Trail Region
Rattlesnake Bomber Base Museum
1500 E. Sealy Monahans, TX 79756 (432) 943-8401 Website
Hill Country Trail Region
Real County Historical Museum
151 Evergreen Street Leakey, TX 78873 (830) 232-5330 Website
Brazos Trail Region
Red Men Museum and Library
4521 Speight Ave Waco , TX 76711 (254) 756-1221 Website
Lakes Trail Region
Red River Railroad Museum
101 East Main St. Denison, TX 75021 (903) 463-5289 Website
Lakes Trail Region
Red River Valley Museum
4600 College Drive Vernon, TX 76384 (940) 553-1848 Website
Independence Trail Region
Refugio County Museum
102 W. West Street Refugio, TX 78377 (361) 526-5555 Website
Tropical Trail Region
Republic of the Rio Grande Museum
1005 Zaragoza St. Laredo, TX 78042 (956) 727-0977 Website
Independence Trail Region
Rev. Jack Yates House, Sam Houston Park
1100 Bagby Street Houston, TX 77002 (713) 655-1912 Website
Plains Trail Region
River Valley Pioneer Museum
118 South 2nd Street Canadian, TX 79014 (806) 323-6548 Website
Lakes Trail Region
Roanoke Visitor Center and Museum
114 N. Oak Street Roanoke, TX 76262 (817) 491-6090 Website