Visit the Magoffin Home State Historic Site in El Paso, Texas

If you're traveling to or through El Paso, Texas, there is a very interesting stop you'll surly want to make. It is the Magoffin Home State Historic Site and it will tell you a great deal about the settlement of El Paso. It will offer you a unique opportunity to learn of one family's significant role during our country's western expansion.

Magoffin Home State Historic Site explores the stories of a multicultural family who actively participated in U.S. expansion and settlement, military service, trade on the Santa Fe–Chihuahua Trail, Civil War turmoil and U.S.–Mexico relations.

The 1875 home is an excellent example of Territorial style architecture. Territorial style architecture began around 1846 and was used until New Mexico stopped being a territory and became a state in 1912. The Territorial style is considered to be a blend of Pueblo and Victorian styles.

The Magoffin home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. In 1985, the surrounding area was declared the Magoffin Historic District. 

Guided Tours

Guided tours by volunteers are given to visitors. The tours are very informative while you walk to all areas of this historic adobe mansion. Authentic art and antique furnishings are on display and help transport visitors back in time.

During your tour you'll learn about the history and heritage of the Southwest borderlands through the lives and experiences of a prominent El Paso family. Most tours last about one hour. Spanish tours are offered Thursday through Saturday. Be sure to call ahead for tour availability.

The Magoffin Family

The story begins with Joseph Magoffin (1837–1923) who was born in Chihuahua, Mexico but was educated in Kentucky and Missouri. He then arrived in the El Paso area in 1856 to work in his father’s mercantile shop at Magoffinsville. Magoffinsville was a site established in 1849 by James Wiley Magoffin about a half mile north of the Rio Grande inside today's city of El Paso.

Not too long after Joseph's arrival in Magoffinsville the American Civil War began. Joseph and his brother Samuel joined the Confederate army as part of General H.H. Sibley’s brigade.

When the Civil War ended, Joseph Magoffin returned to Magoffinsville and worked long and hard for the development of El Paso and the region. He was in a unique position to advocate for El Paso's settlement with his extensive landholdings. This helped him bring the all important railroad to El Paso along with businesses and utilities. Magoffin obviously became quite wealthy during this period.

Ultimately, Joseph Magoffin was a co-founder of the State National Bank as well as serving as county judge, four terms as mayor, collector of customs and in several other public offices. His wife Octavia became a social leader of the developing community.

When Joseph and Octavia moved into their new home in 1877, on property willed to him from his late father, El Paso was a small frontier town. There were actually large complications involved to take back ownership of the property since it was seized by Unionists during the Civil War. The settlement itself was destroyed a few years after the Civil War from flooding of the Rio Grande.

When Joseph completed what was required to legally retake the property, a new adobe  home was constructed in typical Spanish and Territorial architecture found in the Southwest borderlands.  The El Paso Times in 1887 wrote a story describing the home and it's surroundings. They wrote,  “The grounds surrounding it comprise twenty acres, embraced in lawns, flower gardens, fruit orchards, vegetable beds, grass plats and small grain divisions.” The Magoffin's entertained often at their beautiful home which you'll learn more about on the guided tour.

There is much more to the story of the Magoffin family and their contributions in developing the El Paso area. During your guided tour you'll learn why the Magoffin's were true pioneers who used their vast resources to not just help their own family but also to help the city he came to love.

If you want to learn about the early days of the area and of El Paso, this is a travel stop you'll want to make.

You also may wish to inquire about the hour long walking tour of the Magoffin Historic District.

See additional Western Trips articles found on the links below...

Historic Mesilla, New Mexico

Historic Fort Stockton, Texas 

Visiting the Magoffin Home State Historic Site

The Magoffin home is located at 1120 Magoffin Ave, El Paso, TX. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday 9a-5p. The site is closed on Mondays. 

For additional information see...www.thc.texas.gov



(Article and photos copyright Western Trips)

Sonora Texas / Old West Outlaws and Texas History

A visit to the town of Sonora, Texas offers an opportunity to tour it's downtown area that is rich in history and heritage. Sonora is the county seat of Sutton County Texas and is located about 170 miles northwest of San Antonio along Interstate 10 (about a 2 1/2 hour drive) 

Sonora, Texas 1898

Sonora is recognized as being located on the western end of Texas' scenic Hill Country. To the west and northwest of Sonora lie the flat expanses of the Chihuahuan Desert.

There are lots of history to see in Sonora involving ranching, old west outlaws and the transition of a west Texas town moving into the twentieth century. 

Annual events held in Sonora, Texas include the Annual Cinco De Mayo Celebration held on May 5th... The Sonora Outlaw Pro Rodeo is held every third weekend in August...The Sutton County Game Dinner is the oldest and largest game dinner celebrated in the area held in November...,span>The Dry Devils River Music Flood held for a day each October...Sonora’s annual one-day Christmas Market in December.

Visit the sites where history comes alive...


Old West Shootout on Main Street 
 
On the night of April 2, 1901, William Carver, a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, was shot and killed in Jack Owen's Bakery by Sheriff E.S. Briant and his deputies. Some accounts say the gunfight occurred outside of the store. With guns drawn on entry, they attempted to arrest Carver and George Kilpatrick on suspicion of the murder of Oliver Thornton in Concho County Texas. One account says that Kilpatrick made a fumbling motion and Carver's gun never cleared the holster before he was shot six times. 

Will Carver was buried in the Sonora Cemetery. There is a gravestone marker that simply shows the date of his death, April 2, 1901. 

 Old Ice House Ranch Museum

Old Ice House Ranch Museum

This is a must stop. A the  Old Ice House Ranch Museum which is housed inside an old ice house is a collection of one of a kind memorabilia pertaining to the history of Sonora and Sutton County Texas. 

Exhibits include an array of old artifacts to educate and entertain visitors about ranching in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Sutton County. Included with the relics of Sonora is information about the 1901 shootout by sheriff deputies with Will Carver, a member of Butch Cassidy's "Wild Bunch" gang.  Carver was on the losing end of the gunfight on the streets of Sonora. 

You'll leave this unique museum with a new appreciation of the pioneers that developed this rugged area when the discovery of a deep water well drilling technique opened this parched prairie to sheep, cattle and goats after the bustle of the West had passed it by. 

Sutton County Courthouse
 
The 1891 Sutton County Courthouse was designed by Oscar Ruffini, a prominent architect from San Angelo, in the Second Empire style. Much handwork is evident in the limestone and dressed stone. 

Sutton County Texas Courthouse

Restorations of the courthouse took place where all windows were restored and missing roof dormers and roof cresting were reconstructed using historic photographs. 

The interior restoration brought all new mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems including fire protection and accessibility improvements All of these enhancement followed the original design. A non-original tile floor at the first floor corridors and offices was removed and replaced with salvaged wood. Original wood windows, doors, stairways, and wainscot were refinished to match the original stain, and wood shutters were reconstructed at all window openings. Wall colors were restored and a decorative wall stenciling of gold and copper leaf was recreated. All vault door decorative finishes were painstakingly restored. 

The courthouse was rededicated on June 11, 2002.

Old Sutton County Jail 

Old jail in Sonora, Texas

When Sutton County Texas was organized in 1890, a jail was obviously needed. At the time there were several jail construction companies, mostly located back east. 

The Pauley Jail Building and Manufacturing Co. of St. Louis was hired to build this jail. The project begans begun in Feb. 1891 under the supervision of Judge J. L. Dunagan. The new jail was completed in Sept. 1891. The native stone jail structure was two story and had a jailer's residence in addition to cells for prisoners. Of special historic note, the first prisoner in the new jail was gambler and gunman John Denson, a cousin of outlaw John Wesley Hardin. 

The old Sutton County jail in downtown Sonora stands on Oak Street near the Sutton County Courthouse. 

Additional Western Trips articles found on the links below... 

Fort Stockton Texas

San Angelo Texas

The Caverns of Sonora

Another must stop while in the area is The Caverns of Sonora. Many believe these are one of the most beautiful caverns in the world. The Caverns of Sonora contains unusual formations, such as bladed helictites and coralloid growths, and is of exceptional beauty. 

This National Natural Landmark is located eight miles west of Sonora. Because of its calcite crystal formations and rarity of helictites, the cavern is considered to be a world-class cave. The formation of the cave is said to have occurred between 1.5 to five million years ago. The cave is a constant 71°F, but feels like 85°F due to the humidity. During a tour, you can go 150 feet below the Earth’s surface and be mesmerized by all the formations underground.

For detailed information about the caverns and available tours see...http://www.cavernsofsonora.com/tours    Tours of the cave leave the caverns gift shop constantly, with usually never more than a 30-minute wait.

Additiomal photos of Sonora, Texas...

Gun used to kill outlaw Will Carver in 1901     

Another view of the old county jail structure

Sonora during the early automobile years

Downtown Sonora during horse and wagon days

Waco Mammoth National Monument

If your travels take you to or through Waco, Texas, the Waco Mammoth National Monument is a  unique travel stop and one you'll totally enjoy. The site was officially named a national monument in 2015 which also makes it a part of the National Park System.

Waco Mammoth National Monument is a paleontological site protecting the only nursery herd of Columbian mammoths in the U.S. Visitors enjoy tours and fossil viewing. The national park features fossils of female mammoths, a bull mammoth, and an ancient relative of camels, an antelope, alligator, giant tortoise, and more.

 The national monument is in 100 acres of wooded parkland along the Bosque River. The Columbian mammoth is now extinct. It lived during the Pleistocene Epoch, known as the Ice Age, and lived in North America from southern Canada to as far south as Costa Rica.

For a few decades, what stood at the site of this national monument was essentially a circus tent. What was of special interest however were the elephant fossils below. What was found were Columbian mammoths that were still preserved in their death position which occurred some 60,000 years ago after floodwaters left them buried in mud.

The Site's Discovery 

The site was first discovered by accident in 1978, when two 19-year-olds looking for arrowheads along a dry riverbed found mammoth bones. Paleontologists at Baylor University were notified.  The bone was brought to Baylor University's Strecker Museum where it was identified as the femur of a Columbian mammoth, the larger distant relative of the wooly mammoth.

With this information, excavations were undertaken which led to surprisingly rich finds. Within a decade, sixteen Columbian mammoths were foundand lifted out of the ground using plaster jackets. A second excavation located six more mammoths, a camel and the tooth of a saber-tooth cat.

What killed these mammoths so long ago has not been solidly determined. There is no trace of human involvement and the bones do not appear to be disturbed by scavengers. One idea was that the mammoths were caught in some type of flash flood. Another is that they were trapped from rising water from the adjacent Bosque River. It's felt that subsequent floods buried the remains and also  trapped and killed the bull, juvenile and female mammoths. 
 

Visiting the Waco Mammoth National Monument

What visitors will see today at the Waco Mammoth National Monument is a modern climate controlled dig shelter that could pass for an art gallery. The shelter has an abundance of natural light from all directions and a suspended walkway that provides a terrific overhead view of the mammoths. 

The national monument is managed in partnership by the National Park Service, the City of Waco, and Baylor University. According to the National Park Service, Tour guides will lead you from the Welcome Center, down a 300 yard paved path to the Dig Shelter where mammoth fossils are in situ (still in their original position within the bone bed). During your tour, you will learn about the Ice Age, how the fossils were discovered, and why this site is one of the most important paleontological finds in North America. The tour is educational and interesting and takes a relatively short time, perhaps 30-45 minutes.The Monument is easily accessible via personal vehicle, bus, or motor home.

For more information and a detailed map of the Monument's location see nps.gov/waco/planyourvisit/index.htm

For a list of all the mammoth sites in the U. S. see  nps.gov/waco/learn/mammoth_sites_in_usa.htm 

(Photos copyright Western Trips)

Marble Falls,Texas in the Scenic Hill Country

There is a falls at Marble Falls, Texas. It is a twenty-two foot ledge of pink Texas marble on the Colorado River, now hidden by Lake Marble Falls. Early travelers referred to these falls as the "great falls" or the "marble falls" of the Colorado River as early as 1817.

Historic District

Marble Falls is in the scenic Texas Hill Country only about 45 miles west / northwest of Austin and about 85 miles north of San Antonio in Burnet County Texas.

The Founding of Marble Falls 

General Adam R. Johnson traveled to Texas in 1854, viewed the falls and surrounding countryside, and knew he wanted to make Marble Falls his home. He returned to his native Kentucky to fight in the Civil War, tragically losing his eyesight. Never forgetting his dream, Johnson returned to Marble Falls and officially founded the city in 1887.

Historic Main Street District 

Come and experience the unique culture of Historic Downtown Marble Falls. Market Day on Main is the perfect time to get out, explore downtown and shop artisan goods from around the Hill Country.
For exact dates, check on website....www.marblefalls.org/events/2018/marketday. 

Uptown Theater

Historic Buildings / Uptown Theater

The venue opened in the 1942 and served primarily as an audience hall for traveling entertainment but eventually began showing movies.

“Every town in the old days had a movie theater,” Buster said. “That was the center of the entertainment and social interaction.”

At one point, a fire damaged the building, closing it for a period of time. It re-opened in the 1990s as the Marble Theater. When a multiplex theater opened in town, the venue closed again to be re-opened in 2004 by Buster and Blake, who invested tens of thousands of dollars in upgrades, including renovations of the current Uptown sign uncovered beneath a previous one. They even inherited an old gas-powered projector, weighing thousands of pounds. During the peak of the venue’s success, Buster was booking 40-50 musicians and live shows a year, but the facility has not experienced a resurgence in popularity since then.

The Highland Lakes of Central Texas

Marble Falls is the northern gateway to the Highland Lakes area of Central Texas.

The Highland Lakes  are a chain of seven lakes along Texas' Colorado River beginning  85 miles northwest of Austin and ending in Austin.  The Highland Lakes are named Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ, Lake Marble Falls, Lake Travis, Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake.

The lakes offer excellent recreational activities like boating, water skiing, tubing and fishing.

Longhorn Caverns 

Longhorn Cavern State Park is 645 acres of rugged Texas Hill Country between Marble Falls and Burnet in Burnet County. The state acquired Longhorn Cavern from private owners in 1932 to 1937. The park opened in 1938. Enjoy the walking tour through the caverns where you'll see fascinating stalagmites and stalactites created by seeping water.

Longhorn Caverns State Park

Longhorn Caverns was used for a variety of purposes during the last two centuries. The cave has provided shelter since prehistoric times. Some of the earliest visitors were the area’s prehistoric peoples. They used the large room next to the main entrance for shelter.

Anglo settlers discovered the cave in the mid 1800's and mined bat guano during the Civil War to make gunpowder for the Confederacy. During the Prohibition era the Main Room in the cavern was used as a speakeasy with music and dancing.


See additional Western Trips articles found on the links below....

Visit Historic Llano Texas

Visit Burnet Texas

Visit Kerrville Texas

Colorado River / Lake Marble Falls

The Falls on the Colorado Museum

The museum, located in the historic 1891 Granite School on the campus of Marble Falls Elementary School, tells local history of Marble Falls and the surrounding communities. Artifacts, documents, photos, books and culturally important icons and memorabilia on display..

Marble Falls is on the Colorado River at the intersection of U.S. Highway 281 and Farm Road 1431, thirteen miles southeast of Burnet in southern Burnet County. 

(Article and photos copyright Western Trips) 

Kerrville, Texas / History and Arts in the Hill Country

Kerrville is a scenic and vibrant community located in the beautiful Texas Hill Country and along the beautiful Guadalupe River. What is now Kerrville in Kerr County was first referred to as "Brownsborough," but after the area was formally platted in 1856 by James Kerr, a major in the Texas Revolution, the settlement was formally changed to "Kerrville" .

Kerrville's significance dates from a series of events starting in 1857. This is when German master miller Christian Dietert and millwright Balthasar Lich started a large grist and saw mill on the bluff. Their mill, with a non stop source of power from the river and protection from floods, became the most extensive operation of its kind in the Texas Hill Country west of New Braunfels and San Antonio. 

Mercantile and freighting businesses was the main endeavor of the Charles A. Schreiner family empire. These included retail, wholesale, banking, ranching, marketing, and brokering operations-which during the next fifty years became the economic engine of Kerrville and the Hill Country. 

Today, Kerrville Texas is known for their excellent museums, theaters, art galleries, shopping options, and healthcare facilities. Kerrville Texas features diverse musical and theater arts groups. In addition to this, the Guadalupe River is lined with gorgeous parks. 

Below are just some of the activities and festivals that take place annually in Kerrville along with some historical structures.

Annual Memorial Day Weekend Art Show / Kerrville Festival of the Arts

Annual Memorial Day weekend art show held in the historic downtown Kerrville area, featuring about 100 artists and fine craftsmen. Admission and parking is free and food vendors are on site

Kerrville Folk Festival

Founded by Rod Kennedy, the Kerrville Folk Festival has run annually since 1972. This festival is the longest continuously running music festival of its kind in North America. The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at the
Quiet Valley Ranch, about nine miles south of town.

The event draws around 30,000 people per year. There is a yearly competition to discover promising new singer-songwriters called the New Folk Competition. Thirty-two finalists are selected from a field of 800 entries to share two of their original songs in an afternoon appearance on the stage of the Threadgill Theater. Over the course of the 18 days and nights, activities are provided for all ages with a focus on nurturing and developing artistic expression, especially the art of songwriting, in a loving family-friendly environment.

Some of the events held at the Kerrville Folk Festival include a Songwriters’ School.  Held in the Kennedy Outdoor Theater which provides plenty of room for break-out sessions. The Songwriters School has been been in existence for thirty five years. Also, a Guitar workshop for all skill levels, harmonica workshops and a lot more.

Detailed information about this year's event can be found at www.kerrvillefolkfestival.org


Kerrville Fall Music Festival

Celebrate wine and music during Labor Day weekend at the annual Kerrville Fall Music Festival in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. 

Schreiner House

The Schreiner House 

After serving in the Confederate Army in the Civil War for several years, Captain Charles Schreiner returned to his family ranch on Turtle Creek. A few years later, the Schreiner family moved to town. 

The original Schreiner home was a frame building where the mansion now sits. In 1879, Capt. Schreiner commissioned San Antonino architect Alfred Giles, to design his new home. The mansion was constructed in three phases and was completed in 1897. 

The original six- bedroom, two-story home, constructed by expert German masons, was the first limestone home in Kerrville. It was also the first home in Kerrville to have electric lights. The light fixtures that began as candles and kerosene were later converted to gas which was pumped form the basement, and then to electric fixtures.

Although the mansion has changed ownership through the years, the Schreiners were the only family that ever lived there. After Charles Schreiner's death on February 9, 1927, his heirs transferred ownership to the Kerrville Masonic-Lodge. In 1972 Mrs. Roland Walters of Camp Verde, Texas, purchased the structure and sold it to the Hill Country Preservation Society, Inc. in 1975. The Preservation Society made many repairs to the home. Visitors today will see features including several original gas fixtures, mantles, and parquet flooring on the first floor.


Kerr Arts and Cultural Center

Kerrville is widely renowned as the Texas Hill Country Arts destination, and its large array of artists and craftsmen is a point of pride in the community.

Kerr Arts & Cultural Center

KACC was founded in 1995 by a group of community artists with the goal of providing a show place for local artists, and furthering the arts and culture education of the entire community. The KACC organization began its early years moving from one location to another, hosting art shows and art education.

With the help of James Avery and Bank of The Hills, KACC bought the Kerrville Post Office in July of 1999, and held the first show in March 2000. Many years spent revovating transformed the building’ interior into a beautiful art gallery complete with adapt educational facilities.

The mission of the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center is to be a catalyst for enriching the cultural life of the community and supporting artists of the Hill Country through exhibitions, instruction in the arts and fine crafts, and educational programs for adults and young people. More information can be found at....www.kacckerville.com

Additional Western Trips articles about Texas Hill Country travel include....

Nimitz Museum Fredericksburg, TX

Historic Llano, TX

The Museum of Western Art 

The Museum of Western Art

 The Museum of Western Art opened on April 23rd, 1983, and was first known as the Cowboy Artists of America Museum. Since the museum's opening, thousands of visitors have walked the Museum galleries and have seen the West brought to life through the unique artwork on view.

The stories the museum presents is comprehensive. The hardworking cowboys, Native Americans, women of the West, settlers, mountain men and others are featured through various themed exhibits. Through other exhibitions, the history of famous ranches as well as other diverse aspects of our Western heritage are shared with ever increasing audiences. In addition, educators, students, writers, and the public make use of the museum’s 6000 volume Western art and history research library, the Griff Carnes Research Center.  

As you can see from the above, there are plenty of fun and educational events throughout the year in Kerrville, Texas and this is just a small sample. The fact that all this is available in the scenic Texas Hill Country makes your trip there that much more fun.  

For more detailed information on events and festivals and exact dates including hotel and dining choices, see the information at the Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau at.....www.kerrvilletexascvb.com 

SEE MORE PHOTOS BELOW...

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(Photos copyright Western Trips)

Some of the Very Best Travel Stops in Texas

Texas offers vacationers one of the diverse array of trip stops than just about any state in the United States. Many people at first think of large ranches and cowboy when planning a trip to the Lone Star State. Rest assured, there's plenty more to see in Texas, the second largest state in the U.S.

Texas is so large that the climate varies from east Texas with it's arid and hot weather to the west where the climate is much drier yet can be hot as a chili pepper. An interesting historic note is that  Texas was originally called Tejas by the Indians which meant "those who are friends.

Here are just some of the fun and educational Texas travel stops you are sure to enjoy...

San Antonio Riverwalk

San Antonio

Your first stop might be the historic Alamo located in San Antonio. Originally built as a mission by the Spaniards, it was the site of the famous battle during the Texas war of independence from Mexico in 1835.

near the Alamo is the popular San Antonio Riverwalk with dining, shopping, hotels and fun narrated boat rides along the winding river.

Also be sure to visit the San Antonio Missions. These missions just south of the downtown area tell the stories of the people who came into the Spanish missions to live in the 1700s. The San Antonio Missions are a National Historical Park.

Austin

The Driskill Hotel located in downtown Austin Texas at 604 Brazos Street is arguably the most famous hotel in the state. The Driskill was built in 1886 and is well known for it’s beautiful architecture. The hotel was built by Jesse Driskill, a very wealthy Texas cattleman who set out to construct the best hotel south of St. Louis.

Historic Driskill Hotel

The Bullock Texas State History Museum let history come to life with Texas stories, photos, artifacts and records in what is probably one of the finest state historical museums in the U.S. Add to this a 400 seat Imax Theater and special 4D effects and chances are you'll come back more than once.

Tour the Texas State Capitol Building just north of the downtown area and adjacent to the University of Texas. The capitol site is comprised of twenty-two acres of grounds. The capitol building is mostly built from materials found in abundance in the nearby Texas Hill Country. The building you will tour was built during the 1880's.

Waco 

One very interesting and unique travel stop during your tour of Texas is the Waco Mammoth National Monument.

The site is located just about three miles north of Waco and offers a fascinating look of the Mammoths that once lived there some fifty thousand years ago. The discovery of this 100 acre site has to do with two boys in 1978 searching for arrowheads and fossils. Per the National Monument's web site....

On a spring day in 1978, Paul Barron and Eddie Bufkin embarked on a search for arrowheads and fossils near the Bosque River. To their surprise, the men stumbled upon a large bone eroding out of a ravine. Recognizing the unusual nature of the find, they removed the bone and took it to Baylor University's Strecker Museum (predecessor to the Mayborn Museum Complex) for examination. Museum staff identified the find as a femur bone from a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi). This now extinct species lived during the Pleistocene Epoch (more commonly known as the Ice Age) and inhabited North America from southern Canada to as far south as Costa Rica.

The Waco Mammoth National Monument is open to the public anytime during regular operating hours. Start your visit at the Welcome Center located at 6220 Steinbeck Bend Road. Guided tours are conducted every 30 minutes, so just show up and join the fun, no reservation needed! Tours last from 45 minutes to one hour. For more information visit....https://www.nps.gov/waco/index.htm

Houston 

Make it a point to visit the Johnson Space Center where you'll explore about the history of the astronauts, space, communications with spacecraft and much more. Plenty of exhibits here that will be a big hit for the entire family.

 The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum is also located in Houston.
This is the only museum in the U.S. dedicated primarily to preserving the legacy and honor of the African-American soldier.

Buddy Holly Center

Lubbock

Located in far west Texas, Lubbock is home to Texas Tech University. Two must stops here include the Buddy Holly Center with many exhibits honoring the 1950's rock and roll icon. According to the Buddy Holly Center web site, the Center has dual missions... preserving, collecting and promoting the legacy of Buddy Holly and the music of Lubbock and West Texas, as well as providing exhibits on Contemporary Visual Arts and Music, for the purpose of educating and entertaining the public.

Another interesting trip stop is the National Ranching Heritage Center. The National Ranching Heritage Center is a magnificent museum that is well maintained and very informative. If you love Texas pioneer history then this venue is a must stop. This amazing western museum comprising thirty acres features about fifty buildings that include a schoolhouse, barns, and very well preserved houses, etc. There are thirty-eight ranch structures. Each of them have been authentically and historically restored and furnished.

Fort Stockton enlisted men's barracks

Fort Stockton 

Fort Stockton is located between San Antonio and El Paso and today is directly on Interstate 10. During the 1860′s and 1870′s, the fort was at a crucial junction for the stagecoach and freight lines heading to El Paso and eventually California. Tour the fort buildings and parade grounds and enjoy authentic exhibits from the fort's frontier past in the fort museum.

The Annie Riggs Hotel and Boardinghouse, which today is a world renown museum and considered Fort Stockton's first real hotel, was bought by a woman  named Annie Riggs back in 1904. The building was wisely turned into a museum in 1954 and contains a fascinating and very high quality display of 19th and 20th century memorabilia.

Old Red Museum, Dallas

Dallas

The Old Red Museum. The building is of red sandstone in a Richardsonian Romanesque style of architecture. The building was known locally as the Old Red Courthouse located at the southwest corner of Commerce and Houston Streets in downtown Dallas. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum is located in a beautifully restored building, built in 1892, that was the Dallas County Courthouse until 1966. Today, The Old Red Museum makes an excellent trip stop while visiting Dallas and a great place to learn how this city grew from one man's 1841 settlement to a major metropolitan area of the twenty-first century.

The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is a museum for all ages. It's virtually a living science lesson. There is something for everyone at this museum.  There are eleven halls within the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. As part of your visit to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science you can view educational features and cutting-edge documentaries along with independent films. The Hoglund Foundation Theater accommodates 298 people in comfortable seats.

The Texas travel sites detailed above of course are only a small fraction of what you can explore throughout the state. You may enjoy additional Western Trips articles on the links below...

Old Route 66 Through the Texas Panhandle

A Texas Historic Courthouse Building Tour

The Historic Waggoner Ranch of Texas

(Article and photos copyright Western Trips)

The Caverns of Georgetown Texas / Visit Inner Space Caverns

Located just north of Austin, Texas in the city of Georgetown is one of the most interesting and best preserved caverns found in the entire state. Inner Space Caverns is a must stop when traveling through central Texas. Several miles of the cavern has been explored but there are thought to be many other areas inaccessible due to blocked tunnels.

Discovered by a Highway Construction Crew

Inner Space Caverns was discovered in 1963 when construction was underway for what today is Interstate 35. Construction crews were boring test holes through limestone in the ground when their drills were going much deeper than normal and then became stuck. They then drilled a hole two feet in diameter nearby and lowered a man down through it. The man was lowered to a room that is now called Discovery Cave and the discovery was official. News of this fantastic discovery spread fast.

Within the next few months, the Texas Speleological Society had received permission to explore the rooms and all the reaches of the newly discovered cave.  This included everything from large rooms to narrow tunnels.

The Forming of the Cavern

Geologists attribute formation of the cave to the action of underwater currents when the Permian Sea covered the area. The caverns are estimated to be up to 100 million years old but only open to the surface since about 40 thousand years ago. This was determined by certain mammoth and saber tooth cat bones discovered there. The natural entrances to the caverns were closed about 14,000 years ago.

Inner Space Caverns is a living cave. This means that the formations continue to develop. It is estimated that ninety-five percent of the cave is still active.

One very interesting rock that guides point out during various parts of the tour is named "bacon". The rock amazingly resembles a strip of bacon. You'll also see tiny bats that generally cling or hang from the rock ceiling in certain parts of the cave. The caverns are also one of the few where prehistoric remains were found.

Touring Inner Space Caverns

Inner Space Caverns was opened to the public in 1966, just three years after it's discovery. There are several different tours conducted at Inner Space Caverns. The Adventure Tour departs approximately every thirty minutes and does not require reservations. The tour itself lasts about one hour and fifteen minutes. A guide will lead the group through well lit pathways and explain the spectacular formations they'll pass. Many of the formations have names. It's amazing how beautiful these caverns are and makes one wonder how many others may still be undiscovered.

We found the tour of the cavern to be very educational and the guides were knowledgeable and helpful.

The year round temperature inside the caverns is 72 degrees which make the caverns a great place to visit on a hot summer day. It's highly recommended that tourists wear rubber soled shoes since you'll be walking on rock surfaces. Food, drink, candy, gum, backpacks, wheelchairs, strollers, and tripods are not allowed within the cave.

Inner Space Caverns could be one of the most easy to reach in Texas. The caverns entrance is just on the west side of Interstate 35 in Georgetown, Texas. The caverns themselves actually run under the Interstate highway.

See these additional Western Trips articles on the links below...

Longhorn Caverns of Texas

The Historic Driskill Hotel in Austin, TX

Visit Historic San Marcos Texas

Directions to Inner Space Caverns

From either the north or the south, Inner Space Caverns can be reached via Interstate 35. If you're coming from Waco to the north, drive south on I-35 to exit 259 toward Texas 26 Spur/ Southeast Inner Loop. The caverns parking lot and building is on the right.

Driving from the Austin to the south, take I-35 north to exit 259 toward SE Inner Loop Dr. Turn left on SE Inner Loop Dr and cross under the Interstate. The parking lot and building will be on the right. 

The address of Inner Space Caverns is 4200 S Interstate 35, Georgetown, TX

Texas is fortunate in having some of the country's most interesting "show" caves. There are also thousands of "wild" caves throughout the state which offers many diverse geologic regions.

There are many great trip stops and historic places to explore in Texas. Inner Space Caverns in Georgetown, just north of Austin, is definitely one of these.

(Article and photos copyright 2015 Western Trips)

The caverns reveal a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites and the remains of mastodons and wolves. The year round temperature in the cavern is a delightful 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 98%. - See more at: http://texasbrazostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/inner-space-caverns#sthash.MvP84Mor.dpuf

The caverns reveal a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites and the remains of mastodons and wolves. The year round temperature in the cavern is a delightful 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 98%. - See more at: http://texasbrazostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/inner-space-caverns#sthash.MvP84Mor.dpuf

The caverns reveal a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites and the remains of mastodons and wolves. The year round temperature in the cavern is a delightful 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 98%. - See more at: http://texasbrazostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/inner-space-caverns#sthash.MvP84Mor.dpuf

The caverns reveal a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites and the remains of mastodons and wolves. The year round temperature in the cavern is a delightful 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 98%. - See more at: http://texasbrazostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/inner-space-caverns#sthash.MvP84Mor.dpuf

The caverns reveal a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites and the remains of mastodons and wolves. The year round temperature in the cavern is a delightful 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 98%. - See more at: http://texasbrazostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/inner-space-caverns#sthash.MvP84Mor.dpuf

The caverns reveal a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites and the remains of mastodons and wolves. The year round temperature in the cavern is a delightful 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 98%. - See more at: http://texasbrazostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/inner-space-caverns#sthash.MvP84Mor.dpuf

The caverns reveal a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites and the remains of mastodons and wolves. The year round temperature in the cavern is a delightful 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 98%. - See more at: http://texasbrazostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/inner-space-caverns#sthash.MvP84Mor.dpuf

The caverns reveal a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites and the remains of mastodons and wolves. The year round temperature in the cavern is a delightful 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 98%. - See more at: http://texasbrazostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/inner-space-caverns#sthash.MvP84Mor.dpuf

The caverns reveal a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites and the remains of mastodons and wolves. The year round temperature in the cavern is a delightful 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 98%. - See more at: http://texasbrazostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/inner-space-caverns#sthash.MvP84Mor.dpuf

The caverns reveal a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites and the remains of mastodons and wolves. The year round temperature in the cavern is a delightful 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 98%. - See more at: http://texasbrazostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/inner-space-caverns#sthash.MvP84Mor.dpuf

The caverns reveal a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites and the remains of mastodons and wolves. The year round temperature in the cavern is a delightful 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 98%. - See more at: http://texasbrazostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/inner-space-caverns#sthash.MvP84Mor.dpuf

The caverns reveal a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites and the remains of mastodons and wolves. The year round temperature in the cavern is a delightful 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 98%. - See more at: http://texasbrazostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/inner-space-caverns#sthash.MvP84Mor.dpuf

The caverns reveal a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites and the remains of mastodons and wolves. The year round temperature in the cavern is a delightful 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 98%. - See more at: http://texasbrazostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/inner-space-caverns#sthash.MvP84Mor.dpuf

Historic Texas Home Tour / Waco

If you future travels take you to Waco Texas, make sure to view and explore some the city's historic residences. Thanks to the Historic Waco Foundation, there are several historic houses that have been restored and maintained that can be toured by the public. All of these houses of course have a different story behind them. Touring these historic properties will give you a good feel for late 1800's and early 1900's Waco. The houses offer tours, exhibits, lectures, workshops, and other educational and recreational programs.

Waco, Texas is located about halfway between Dallas and Austin along Interstate 35 and along the shores of the Brazos River.The first inhabitants at a settlement at present day Waco were Native Americans. The first Anglo settler in the area was Neil McLennan in 1838. The first block of Waco was designed by surveyor George B. Erath in 1849.

Today, Waco, Texas is home to Baylor University. Waco was also the city where the popular soft drink ,Dr. Pepper, was invented and today is the home of the Dr. Pepper Museum. Also make a stop at the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum which has it's home in Waco.

Waco, Texas is the county seat of McLennan County.

Earle-Napier-Kinnard House

The Earle-Napier-Kinnard House is of Greek Revival architecture and is located at 814 South 4th. The first structure on the property was a one story home built by John Bayliss Earle in 1858. The home was made into a larger house in 1869 by Dr. John Napier Smith Sr. who had the wherewithal to expand the then modest house. It was after Napier's addition and renovation that the house took on it's true Greek Revival styling.

Earle-Napier-Kinnard House

Dr. Napier's daughter, Sarah, married Reverend David C. Kinnard, Jr. The two moved into the home and subsequently inherited it.  Sarah and her husband continued to live in the house with three of their children as long as they lived.  The last two residents in the house were Miss Mary Kinnard and Miss Kate Kinnard.

In addition to the beautiful house there is a Victorian Teeling Playhouse that as built in 1881. Children can enjoy the playhouse today.

Many of the pieces in the house are original. The home looks especially beautiful during the Christmas season with each room having it's own decorations.  This historic Texas home is open year round with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas.You can tour the home during it's regular hours (Sat and Sun 2p-5p) and private tours for groups are available by appointment. For more information call (254) 753-5166.

Fort House

Fort House 

Fort House is located at 503 South 4th. Built in 1868 in Greek Revival style by William Aldridge Fort who came to Waco from Alabama. The Fort House has authentic Victorian furniture and artifacts from early Waco. The house was purchased in 1956 by the Junior League of Waco.

Along with many family heirlooms are fine examples of early Texas artists. Guided tours are available and they last perhaps 30 minutes. Most of the rooms in the house are full of items from the Fort family's era, some from the family itself. The rooms are set up like they might have been in the past. When you view the kitchen you'll get a good idea of how different cooking was in the 1800's.

Hoffman House

The Hoffman House is located at 810 South 4th. 

This house was built in the late 1890's in the Queen Anne style Victorian and today is the home of the Historic Waco Foundation offices. You'll enjoy the tours and there's a gift shop. This home again features articles from the era of the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Western Trips has published several interesting articles on historic houses of Texas. See these articles from the links below... 

Historic Homes of San Marcos 

A Walking Tour of Gonzales Texas Historic Homes

Homes in the 1800's / McKinney Texas 

McCulloch House

The McCulloch House 

The McCulloch House Museum is located at 407 Columbus Avenue. The home is on the National Register of Historic Places.

In the late 1800's the McCulloch House was the social place to be in Waco. This Greek Revival style home was built in the 1860-70's by the McCulloch's who made their home the center of socializing.

On display in the house are some of the family heirlooms and art collection.  The original house was a two-room structure. The McCulloch House was enlarged to its present two-story Greek Revival architecture made of local pink brick.

Trained docents offer tours of the McCulloch House and Museum which give visitors a real appreciation of the Victorian era.

As mentioned above there are several excellent Waco Texas attractions and visiting and touring the historic homes of the city is one of them.

(Article and photos copyright Western Trips)