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Pioneer Town at the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum is under construction. (photo by Victoria Roman)

Pioneer Town is an exhibit in the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum (PPHM) in Canyon, Texas. It stands as a replica of what pioneer life was like from 1890-1910. The exhibit was built into the museum over thirty years ago and has been in need for some tender love and care. Pioneer Town will look as good as new, or as good as expected for the 19th century, in spring 2012.

Pioneer Town is one of the most popular exhibits at the PPHM. It allows guests to walk through and experience what life was like during this time period. Pioneer Town is a very hands-on exhibit.

For the past few years most of the exhibit has been blocked off due to a health hazard. Asbestos was in the flooring. The museum has not been able to experience the town as a whole for a while. Today, the problem has been taken care of as the entire town has had new flooring and wood paneling installed for all the shops around the block.

New Pioneer Town

The old Pioneer Town was very restricted with closed doors that did not allow access to the shops and houses.

The new Pioneer Town is much different. Everything is going to be fully interactive with open doors and windows allowing for students, children and families to walk through and enjoy the full pioneer experience. The town will include a saloon, doctor’s office, newspaper office, harness shop, a Victorian hotel and a stable.

The PPHM staff are all very excited for the grand opening of this exhibit in just a few months as they’re already talking about it in their Christmas Special this weekend.

“We’re all excited that it’s going to be so accessible; people are going to be able to go inside so we can give them an immersed education and experience as they go back in time,” stated Becky Livingston, PPHM Special Projects Coordinator.

Ms. Livingston’s tour through the construction zone painted such a vivid picture full of old wooden wagons, candy stripped barber shops, and that friendly Texas smile that gives the Panhandle so much to look forward to this coming spring.

Pioneer Town at the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum is under construction. (photo by Victoria Roman)

Pioneer Town at the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum is under construction. (photo by Victoria Roman)

Pioneer Town at the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum is under construction. (photo by Victoria Roman)

The thirteenth day of the battle of the Alamo is one of the most famous days in Texas history. On March 6, 1839 the president of Mexico, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna Perez, lead thousands of Mexican soldiers in a siege to take back Texas. It was on this day that the Alamo fell.

The Panhandle Plains Historical Museum (PPHM) is currently presenting this historic day in a new exhibit, Remembering the Alamo, 1836-2009. The exhibit is made possible through generous donations from the Daughters of the Republic Texas Library. Remembering the Alamo, 1836-2009 is on view through March 14, 2010.

Remembering the Alamo displays images taken a few years after the battle when photography was still in its infancy. These historical photographs include the Long Barracks Church in 1860, the Alamo’s entrance in 1885 and several more pictures of the suspected second battle of at the Alamo. All were donated by the Daughters of the Republic Library.

Arthur Osborne of the Osborne Company created “Ivorex” plaques, shown in this exhibit, in the 1930s all the way through to 1965. Each ornate plaque has great detail as they each show signs of weather through their years, but have also been well maintained.

Also on display are advertisements that were immensely popular as the slogan, “Remember the Alamo,” which was created by the Piggly Wiggly Corporation in 1960. Tea cans, mugs, lighters, pocket knives, match boxes, ice cream containers and more were all displayed as the battle of the Alamo was commercialized.

Another recognized day was the 100 year anniversary of the Alamo in 1936, the Texas Centennial and the Alamo. There were large ceramic plate collections, various sized cups with a generic Centennial logo and many commercial products purchased as souvenirs in remembrance and honor of the fall of the Alamo.

Soon after the 100 year anniversary came the Lone Star State slogan that represented all of Texas. There is a very large plate collection portraying Texas as an icon to the world.

Not only are there pieces from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, but there is an entire, rather large, contemporary section. There are several cases of souvenirs containing miscellaneous every day items that illustrate the much commercialized “Remember the Alamo,” slogan as well as the Lone Star State.

Several bags, candles, ornaments, hats and kitchen decorations as well as the Battle of the Alamo in a box ready to be set up for a fun reenactment are all on display advertising this historical event’s impact on today as well.

The fall of the Alamo is one of the most important days in history and this exhibit is the perfect illustration of just how proud Texans really are. All of the commercialized products, souvenirs and never forgotten slogans are simply used to portray just how much we truly do Remember the Alamo.

Remembering the Alamo, 1836-2009 at the Panhandle-Plain Historical Museum is on view throught March 14, 2010.

General Custer and I Were Very Nearly the Same Age and the Best of Friends by W. Herbert Dunton, 1910

A Running Fight: The Red River War in Art
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
Through February 14, 2010

If it’s a fight you want, then look no further than the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum (PPHM) in Canyon, Texas. PPHM is displaying A Running Fight: The Red River War in Art, which showcases a wide range of art and artifacts related to the war between the U.S. Army and the Indian tribes of the Southern Plains from 1874 to 1875. A Running Fight will be on display through February 14, 2010

In 1874, the U. S. Army launched a campaign to remove several Indian tribes from the Southern Plains. The Army’s objective was to relocate the tribes to the Indian Reservations. Since the relocation treaties failed, the Indians rebelled against the Anglo-Saxons, who were destroying their way of life. The tribes launched a surprise attack known as The Battle of Adobe Walls on June 26, 1874, only to lose the battle and spark the Red River War. The U.S. Army reacted by attacking large numbers of Indians along the Red River. The war officially ended in 1875 when the remaining Indian tribes entered Fort Sill and surrendered.

A Running Fight depicts both sides of the fighting in the Battle of Adobe Wall and The Red River War.

“There are not only Native American artists, but Anglo-Saxon artists as well and that is very important as each side’s point of view is portrayed in this exhibit,” said Guy C. Vanderpool, Museum Director.

Over half of the paintings are done in the early 1900s as well as some contemporary pieces done in the 20th century. Every angle of this war is covered in all media including oil on canvas, watercolor and pen on paper. There are even a few statues and a piece done on tanned animal hide. Artists H. Bugbee (1900 – 1963) and Vincent Colyer (1825 – 1888) had several works on display.

The most prominent painting on display is The Battle of Adobe Walls (1911) by Gwenfred Lackey (1894 – 1985). Ms. Lackey created a masterpiece depicting the battle of Adobe Walls. The painting shows a beautiful sunset juxtaposed with a bloody battle scene. The Battle of Adobe Walls was her depiction of the stories past down to her by family all the way back to Billy Dixon, a friend of her father who actually fought in the battle. Ms. Lackey worked very hard to make the scene as authentic as possible. Her goal was to portray the battle the way it actually happened.

General Custer and I Were Very Nearly the Same Age and the Best of Friends (1910) by W. Herbert Dunton (1878 – 1936) is a beautiful, black and white oil on canvas. Dunton shows Custer and another soldier with a large bison. Alongside General Custer are wonderful watercolors by H. Bugbee representing the Southern Plains Indians.

A Running Fight includes contemporary paintings of Native Americans with decorated horses, generals who participated in the war and pictures of how the battle’s location looks today. The battleground in at least five of these paintings is very bright, hilly and flooded with patches of flowers and greenery. As this place represents victory for the settlers, the more contemporary paintings, generally done after 1970, paint with light and optimism.

On display is a gold and nickel plated .44/40 caliber rifle, the Quannah Parker Red River War Tribute Rifle (1999); a very unique part of the exhibit. Etched on the right side are decorations of the Battle of Adobe Walls and on the left is a map of the Red River War with pictures of important generals and chiefs. The rifle exhibits very detailed craftsmanship.

Many artists were attracted to both the epic battles and small skirmishes that took place in the Texas Panhandle. These artists include Nick Eggenhofer, Frederic Remington, Olive Vandruff and Carlton Mead. Each has done their part to keep the past of the Texas Panhandle alive.

“The Red River War Exhibit reflects on our commitment to preserving one of several art exhibits that receive national attention for uniqueness and value. Many of these paintings are from permanent collections and they demonstrate the strength and diversity of our collection” said Director Vanderpool.

The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum is very proud and fortunate to have exhibits such as A Running Fight.

Billy Dixon Bringing in Chapman, Battle of Buffalo Wallo by Ben Carlton Mead

General Custer and I Were Very Nearly the Same Age and the Best of Friends by W. Herbert Dunton, 1910

Art work from A Running Fight: The Red River War in Art

A Running Fight: The Red River War in Art
Panhandle-Plains History Museum
October 3, 2009 through February 14, 2009

Depictions of the dramatic and critical “Battle at Little Big Horn” are prolific. However, without such a dramatic and pivotal battle, artists’ paintings of the U.S. Army on the Southern Plains are less well known. A Running Fight: The Red River War in Art, at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum October 3, 2009, through February 14, 2010, shows the U. S. Army’s campaigns against American Indians on the Southern Plains through paintings, drawings and chromolithographs.

The critical battle of the Red River War began as the sun rose on September 28, 1874, when Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie, in command of the Fourth Cavalry, charged into Palo Duro Canyon. At least five Indian villages had sought protection in the hidden isolation of Palo Duro Canyon.

This exhibition will be the first of its kind to focus on this particular aspect of the American West, assembling depictions of the events leading up to this particular campaign. Artists drawn to the Red River War are those of national repute such as Frederic Remington, Nick Eggenhofer, W. Herbert Dunton and Edward Borein, as well as Texas artists such as H. D. Bugbee, Ben Carlton Mead and John Eliot Jenkins.

Art work from A Running Fight: The Red River War in Art

Stones and Bones from the Collection

Stones and Bones from the Collection
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
August 22, 2009 – January 31, 2010

Some of the greatest paleontological and archeological discoveries in North America have been made in the Texas Panhandle, and many of the artifacts collected are housed at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum (PPHM). Moreover, the Archeology Department of PPHM has amassed one of the largest archeological and paleontological collections in the United States.

The Stones and Bones from the Collection exhibit, running from August 22, 2009, through January 31, 2010, will highlight the diversity of the museum’s magnificent geological, paleontological and archeological collections.

Significant collections include Antelope Creek archeological sites, Triassic reptiles and amphibians and Mio-Plio-Pleistocene animals; however, only a small percentage of this collection is on permanent display.

Visitors will learn the difference between archeologists, paleontologists, and geologists; when a rock is not really a rock; and how to get involved preserving the natural and cultural history of the Panhandle Plains.