Frontier Texas!

Frontier Texas! is a 14,000-square-foot (1,300 m2) museum of the American West in downtown Abilene, the seat of Taylor County in West Texas. The museum serves as a visitors information center for the Texas Forts Trail, one of ten Texas Historical Commission driving regions.[1] Opened in 2004 at 625 North First Street on 6.4 acres (26,000 m2) near the Texas and Pacific Railway tracks, the museum focuses on settlers and lifestyles in the Old West. Exhibits display attacks by Indians and wolves, stampeding buffalo, a card game shootout, and a prairie thunderstorm.[2] Visitors see depictions of buffalo hunters, Comanche warriors, explorers, and pioneers in the theatre called the "Century of Adventure", 1780-1880.[3] The narrator in the theater is actor-artist Buck Taylor from Fort Worth.

Exterior of Frontier Texas!

In July 2013, the museum was featured on the syndicated anthology television series Texas Country Reporter, with host Bob Phillips. The episode focuses upon eight weather vanes in the shape of bison recently installed in the museum courtyard.[4]

Recent exhibits
A Wild Land exhibit
  • "Women’s Art: Women’s Vision in West Texas”, April–May 2008
  • "Toy Stories”, November 30, 2007 – February 25, 2008
  • "Spirit of the Frontier Festival”, October 5-October 6, 2007
  • "Chow Time: The Heritage of Cowboy Cooking” (partly on loan from the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth), May 5 – September 11, 2007
  • "Abolitionism From Slavery to Freedom: Africans in the Americas”, February 15-April 22, 2007
  • "Faith on the Frontier: Christmas and Other Early Traditions”, November 22, 2006 – January 22, 2007
  • "Homeland Security: The Texas Forts Trail, Past & Present”, May – September 11, 2006
  • "Christmas on the Frontier", November – December 2005. This exhibit looks at the Hispanic and German cultures of Christmas, the holiday at a frontier fort, and history and photographs of a “Cowboy Christmas ball” dating to 1885.[5]

Museum services

The museum offers lesson plans at elementary and secondary levels for Texas and United States history .[6] The museum publishes a quarterly newsletter called Frontier Times.[2] There is a gift shop called the General Store that offers books, toys, housewares, and clothing.

"YouTube" visitors voted Frontier Texas! the "Best Old West Experience in Texas for 2008".[7]

See also

References
  1. "Frontier Texas!". Texas Forts Trail. texasfortstrail.com. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  2. "FRONTIER Texas! - Visitor Information". Archived from the original on 2008-05-10. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  3. "Abilene Texas - Frontier Texas!". Archived from the original on 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  4. "Frontier Texas!". texascountryreporter.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  5. "FRONTIER Texas! - Events". Archived from the original on 2008-02-11. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  6. Education Coordinator Nell Sims; [email protected]
  7. YouTube - Frontier Texas! by OFFICIALBESTOF.COM TV & TRAVEL SERIES

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