Carson County Square House Museum Panhandle, Texas

Mailing Address

P.O. Box 276
Panhandle, TX 79068

Street Address

5th and Elsie ( Hwy 207)
Panhandle, TX 79068

Phone: 806-537-3524
Fax: 806-537-5628
Email:
Web: www.squarehousemuseum.org/

Related Links

www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/CC/lbc3.html

Description

To afford the community & region the highest level of museum experience; to preserve & protect artifacts with every known & reasonalbe method; to carefully research them; & to be as accessible as possible to the visiting public. The Carson County Square House Museum is an extraordinary repository of the regional history working diligently to achieve the above mission. Through the artifacts, artwork and historic documents on file, the history of the Texas Panhandle comes alive. The resources available complement a number of research disciplines.

History

The Square House Museum, founded in 1965, is a complex of 14 buildings, exhibit units, and macroartifacts within the City of Panhandle. It opened as a museum on July 22, 1967. With the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day, the museum is open to the public every day of the year.

The Square House Museum was the third museum in Texas to be accredited by the American Association of Museums (1972). It was re-accredited in 1980 and again in 1990, with a special letter of commendation for its growth and for development in every phase of the museum. Among the museum s many honors are the American Association of State and Local History s National Award of Merit (1978) and a listing for the Square House on the National Register of Historic Places (1972).

A stick colonial house built of wood hauled by ox cart from Dodge City, Kansas, the Square House was originally one of three ranch houses erected in the mid-1880s by the Niedringhaus Brothers on land which they leased from the Francklyn Land and Cattle Company. As headquarters for the earliest important ranch in Carson County, the houses stood alone on a vast prairie of six hundred fifty thousand acres. The historic house became the home of many who made an imprint on the early history of the Plains. Among those who called the Square House home or used it as a shelter during business trips were Captain Burk Burnett, Colonel Charles Goodnight, British Syndicate Representatives M. K. Brown and C. P. Bucker as well as many other pioneer businessmen and ranchers. It is currently the oldest extant building in the City of Panhandle.

The structure is a twenty-four by twenty-four square foot building, which now houses exhibits summarizing regional history. Adjoining the Square House is a brick building, the Opal Weatherly Purvines Annex, which functions as an art gallery, costume display area, and houses the museum store. Included in the museum complex is a dugout dwelling complete with furniture original to such a home; a red barn housing tools and ranch equipment; a 1928 Santa Fe caboose; the Moody Wildlife and Natural History Gallery; a pioneer bank exhibit; a blacksmith shop; a diorama displaying a cowboy branding a calf; a general store; a 1930s Santa Fe Railway depot office; and a print shop/newspaper office from the same time period. Above all towers a 12-foot diameter wooden Eclipse windmill.

Another history exhibits building, Freedom Hall, was erected during the American Bicentennial. This building is one of the most functional in the museum complex and houses work rooms, storage for permanent collections, and the Hall of Man displaying fifteen major exhibits telling the story of the Panhandle region from 12,000 B. C. to the present. The Senator Grady and Andrine Hazlewood Educational Center was opened in 1987. The 5,275 square foot structure doubles the art gallery exhibit space, increases case exhibits by eighteen large permanent exhibit cases, provides an auditorium for 200 people, includes a room for classroom teaching of arts and crafts, doubles the artifact storage, and adds a much needed kitchen area for museum functions. The building is climate controlled and equipped with the finest features for the exhibit and conservation of artifacts. The Conway Community Church was moved into the complex in 1991, completely restored, and is used for a variety of small social, cultural, and artistic functions.

Artifacts Collections

The permanent collection of the museum, focusing on the late 19th- to early 20th-century objects from the Texas Panhandle, consists of textiles and clothing, documents and photographs of pioneer life, furniture, wildlife of the area, musical instruments, timepieces, Indian artifacts, and art. Bronze sculptures in the permanent collection include works by nationally known artists such as Grant Speed, Buck McCain, and Jim Thomas. The Square House owns one of the largest collections of Native American art in Texas, including works by artists such as Tsatoke, Mopope, Peña, Begay, Wachetaker, and Roybel. Recently acquired was the entire collection of Chief Wolf Robe. Another outstanding contribution made to the collection was the donation of 259 volumes of rare Texana by L. P. Gilvin for a research library.

The collection of over 21,000 artifacts is catalogued, correctly identified, and conserved with maximum attention to preservation. Air filters, humidifiers, temperature controls, approved lighting, and acid-free boxes and papers are used in the two on-premises storage areas, a large off-premises all-steel warehouse, and space donated by the Santa Fe Railway in the local depot. The staff and director have had special training in conservation and preservation, and the collection is regarded as a public trust to be carefully preserved and displayed.

Research Collections

Over 4,000 photographs, 500 books (most relating to Panhandle area), and documents pertaining to prominent citizens, the county, personal papers, local newspapers, school annuals. Available for research in the museum.

Library

Limited access to general public; 500 volumes (technical and history); does not circulate print materials; no appointment necessary; cannot assist with inter-library loans.

Visual reference collection: 30 videos, produced through museum; 21 slide shows (see Education section); 25% of permanent collection visually documented.

Contact Registrar about rights and reproduction; $10/photo fee/duplication charge.

Appointment required: False

Services

Publications

Semi-annual newsletter; annual report to county and board, only; education packet to teachers; brochures; A Time to Purpose by Jo Stewart Randel -- four-volume county history; Square House Museum Cookbook.

Facilities

18,135 square feet total on 49,800 square feet of land; 5,801 square feet exhibition area; 200-person auditorium/lecture hall/performance area; wheelchair-accessible; written guides for Freedom Hall and Square House; Braille guide for Square House exhibit.

Programs

Outreach trunk and slide programs, adult programs (lecture series, introduction to trunk outreach), tours, Summer Youth Art Program, historical videotapes.

A. Trunks (7), Kiowa Trunk, Ranchero Trunk, Pioneer Trunk, Transportation Trunk, Kiowa Calendar, Art Trunk,Christmas Around the World

B. Slide Shows: Artist s Hand: Five Techniques of Painting (A-31 min), Battle of the Little Big Horn (H-17 min), Buffalos, Eagles and Elephants (NH-21 min), Color and Light in Painting (A-27 min), The First Ladies Gowns (H/F-27 min),Frederick Remington (A/H-30 min),From the Land of Scythians (A/H-30 min), Ghost Dance Tragedy of Wounded Knee (H-24 min),Great Bronze Age of China (A/H-24 min), Harmonious Craft (M-60 min), Introduction to Understanding Art (A-40 min), Native American Art (A-45 min), Painting in Georgian England (A-65 min), Pompeii 79 B. C. (H-27 min),Portraits of the Presidents (H-60 min),700 Years of Art from the National Gallery (A-40 min),Suiting Everyone - Men & Women (F-27 min),Survey of American Painting (A-28 min), Texas Wildlife: Animals (NH-33 min) *,Texas Wildlife: Birds (NH-21 min) *,What is Impressionism (A-45 min), Key: A-art, F-fashion, H-history, M-music, N-natural history, * Also available on videotape.

C. Videos: The Masterson of Texas, Panhandle Main Street: Days of Hope, Days of Despair A Quarter of a Century with the Square House,L. P. (Pete) Gilvin, Contractor: Bridges to Tomorrow, The Whittenenburg Family: A Baker s Dozen, A. D. Weatherly: As the Twig Is Bent M. H. W. Monte Richie/ JA Ranch ,Rufe Jordan: High Sheriff,Pioneers in Panhandle Petroleum Lawrence Hagy: An Era, A Vision, Three (Purvines) Sisters: Memories of Home Agnes Weatherly Howe: A Pioneer Childhood in the Texas Panhandle, Bill Waters: The Measure of a Man, Charlie Bell, Cowboy, Jo Randel and Friends, The Lefors of Texas, Lee Bivins: Land and Cattle, In the Grand Tradition: M. K. Brown, an Englishman in Texas ,A Place Called Home: Polish Settlement on the Plains, The Squaw with Blue Eyes, The First 100 Years: Those Who Came, Those Who Stayed, Watt Matthews: Lambshead, a Man, a Ranch, a Family The Life of Billy Dixon,Pioneer Women,John Coleman: Bataan Remembered, Coronado: The Quest for Quivira,Jack B. Kelley: A 20th-Century Horatio Alger Story,The McMurtry Family of Texas

All videotapes are available for loan. All programs (trunk, slide, videotape) are free.

Staff

Director

Kenny Brown, after school maintenance

Administrative Assistant

Educator

Registrar

Financial Assistant

Curatorial Assistant

Weekend Staff


Museum Type

Art
General
History
Historic House
Natural History

Governance

Type: 501 (c ) (3)



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