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Cooke County's local history museum was
designated a historical landmark in 1968 by the Texas Historical
Commission. This building in which the Morton Museum of
Cooke County is housed, was erected in 1884 as Gainesville's
combination city hall, fire station and jail.
Exhibits at the museum focus on the
history of Cooke County and its role in the larger world of the
state of Texas and the United States. The exhibits change
often and are based on themes relating to current events and
interests such as Women's History Month, Independence Day, or
the Medal of Honor Weekend. These themes range from
baseball to the Gainesville Community Circus. Erected in
the museum is a partial log cabin dating from the 1870s, which
houses temporary exhibits. Small exhibit cases are also
maintained by the museum at the County Courthouse, County Public
Library, and at the Depot Museum.
The museum maintains a large archival
and photographic collection of materials for researches to
utilize. A staff person is available, by appointment, to
aid individuals in genealogy research. Also available by
appointment, is a step-on guide for bus tours of the historic
downtown and other historic sites in the area. Guided
walking tours of the downtown and Victorian homes district may
also be arranged. Recorders and audio tapes of the history
of the Victorian homes and historic downtown may be rented at
the museum for those individuals wanting to take the tours
without a guide. To arrange a tour or make an appointment,
call the museum. The museum store has historical
publications and local authors, prints, historic souvenir
postcards, and other items such as bullets from Camp Howze for
sale.
www.mortonmuseum.org |
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