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Many
small communities in Texas have their own local museum and the town
of Stephenville is no exception.
The Stephenville Historical House Museum has on display a sizable
collection of old relics they've gathered up from the community. Milk
cans, dental tools, dishes, and the list goes on and on. All the commodity
items it took to run a ranch or a dental office or a homestead many
years ago, in Texas, are on display. As the name suggests, The Stephenville
Historical House Museum also has a collection of houses on display.
This is what makes the Historical House Museum very different.
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Stephenville
Historical House Museum Church Interior
Photo courtesy Sam
Fenstermacher, 2003 |
The
museum's collection of structures includes several log cabin style
frontier homes, a church, an old schoolhouse, and a carriage house.
These buildings are all on display in the grassy field behind the
Berry Cottage. The Berry Cottage is the oldest house in Stephenville,
and it's quite unique with its steeply pitched roof and narrow shuttered
windows.
The old buildings give the rest of the collection of relics a context.
For instance, as you look at the log cabins and their sparse accommodations,
the harshness of frontier life in Texas become apparent. The carriage
house and blacksmith shop display the horse-drawn carriage in an environment
fairly authentic to its time and place in transportation history.
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Stephenville
Historical House Museum Log Cabin
Photo courtesy Sam
Fenstermacher, 2003 |
Stephenville
Historical House Museum Log Cabin Fireplace
Photo courtesy Sam
Fenstermacher, 2003 |
The
Stephenville Historical House Museum has lots of outdoor space to
roam. Take the kids and the camera. This place offers many unique
photographic opportunities. Although the museum staff has limited
hours during which they are available to show you around, the front
gate seems to be open most of the time. The museum is located a couple
blocks from the county courthouse on East Washington Street, and it's
definitely a worth while side trip if your in Stephenville
to see the courthouse
and town square. |
Copyright
© 2005 by Sam
Fenstermacher, All rights reserved
More information: http://www.stephenville.com/museum/welcome.html
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