Permian Basin Petroleum Museum Library and Hall of Fame, Midland, Texas

MUSEUM INFO

v2009-07a

Permian Basin Petroleum Museum Library and Hall of Fame
Midland, Texas

Mailing Address

1500 Interstate 20 West
Midland, TX 79701

Street Address

1500 Interstate 20 West
Midland, TX 79701

Phone: 915-683-4403
Fax: 915-683-4509
Email:

Related Links

www.savvycenter.com/explorer/areas/infopages/petroleummuseum.htm
www.visitmidlandtx.com/sections/attractions/museum_micro/PM-general.asp

History

Oil and gas producer George T. Abell conceived the idea of the museum and led a dedicated campaign for the museum's charter as a nonprofit 502 (c) 3 institution in 1967. Five hundred forty petroleum industry leaders throughout the Southwest signed the petition for incorporation. In 1969, the board hired an executive director to initiate fundraising. Construction began in 1973, and The Petroleum Museum opened its door to the public in 1975.

Additions since the opening include the "Oil Patch" exterior exhibits (1976), the Archives Center (1978), the industry production phase wing (1981), the education department (1986), the modern pumping unit exterior exhibit (1987), the environmental exhibit (1994), and the modern drilling rig exterior exhibit (1996).

Today, The Petroleum Museum stands as the largest and most integrated petroleum-related museum in the world. As a unique education facility, the museum serves to tell the cultural and technical stories of the oil and gas industry. Its state-of-the-art mechanical-electronic exhibits, original historical paintings, archives, library, and variety of educational programs help to nurture curiosity and stimulate learning for all visitors.

Artifacts Collections

West Wing: The History of Man until the Coming of Oil

Series of exhibits relative to the cultural history of the Permian Basin: Prehistoric Man in the Permian Basin - Pre 1419 Exhibits includes photographs, replica of the Midland discovery skull, "Midland Minnie," shards and Folsom points, projectile points, hammerstones, baskets, fiber sandals, mat and rope. Original oil painting by Tom Lovell, "Salt Bearers at Lake Juan Cordona."

Spanish Conquistodors and Priests in the Permian Basin - 1419-1821 Spanish architecture, Morion helmet, original "chispa" and Spanish armor. Two original oil paintings by Tom Lovell, "Cabeza de Vaca" and "Coronado's Expedition of 1540." Two original watercolors by Jose Cisneros.

Mexico and the Permian Basin - 1821-1846 Artifacts include authentic Comanche beaded moccasins, pouch, awl case, and knife sheath; necklace, quiver, pipe and arrow. Original Tom Lovell oil paintings, "Comanche Moon" and "The Governor's Palace at Santa Fe 1840s"

State of Texas - 1846-1865 - The U.S. Army and the Permian Basin Artifacts include weaponry, gear left by troops stationed at Pope's star-shaped fort on the Pecos River, muzzle-loaded guns, muzzle and powder pouch. Original Lovell oil paintings "Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos River," "The Camel Expedition," and "Captain Pope's Well."

The Cattle Industry and Railroads in the Permian Basin - 1865-1920 Collection consists of photographs of ranching activities and railroad stations, an exhibit of branding irons used in the Permian Basin, horse bridle, Aladdin lantern, shoe lasts, sewing machine, bronze sculpture of longhorn steer with Jingle Bob brand, saddle, blanket, gun, spurs, horse collar, wooden farming tools. Railroad artifacts relative to the station master. Original oil painting by Tom Lovell, "Fast Mail to Carlsbad."

Coming of Oil - 1920-1930 Alidad, 1923 battery radio, rig building tools, 1915 oilfield buckboard, American O

Research Collections

The Archive Center and Library is a historical collection of primary sources on all phases of the petroleum industry (exploration, drilling, production, pipelining, marketing, service and supply). The Center is for the collection, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge, both through exhibits and publications of the petroleum industry and its "makers and shakers."

The Center is a depository of private papers, company records, sound recordings (over 500 one-hour tapes with typed transcriptions), motion picture film (1926-), and maps. There are over 230,000 photographs pertinent to the Permian Basin petroleum industry, its boomtowns and cities (those based on an economy of oil), along with thousands of portraits of oil men and women.

There are 160-canned aerial film of the entire Permian Basin, taken between 1943 and 1946.

There is a non-circulating reference library that includes over 1500 books, company in-house journals, industry trade magazines and catalogues, dating back to 1884 for researching the oil and gas tools, and equipment donated to the museum. The Center also has newspaper runs, including the San Angelo Standard Times, The Colorado City Clipper, Fort Stockton Pioneer, and The Pecos Gusher and Pecos Enterprise (1911-1963). The Center contains over 3,000 square feet including reading room, administrative offices, reference library, art storage room, and a conservation and processing room.

The reference library is available for research for historians, scholars, reporters, and researchers.

Library

Open to general public, students, scholars, staff.

Circulates printed materials. Library hours differ from normal museum hours. Library can assist with inter-library loans.

Visual reference collection includes over 230,000 photos, negatives, and slides. A very small percentage of the museum's permanent collection has been photographed. Contact Director of Archives or the Executive Director regarding rights and reproduction. Duplication fees: nominal fees $20-25 for 8"x10" reproduction. If there is a request for commercial use, the fee imposed is $150.00. Thirty minutes research time is given. However, any time over the 1/2 hour will be charged.

Appointment required: False

Services

Publications

The museum newsletter, Museum Memo, is published quarterly: March, June, September, and December. The institution has published Permian: A Continuing Saga by Elmer Kelton with reproductions and descriptions of the Petroleum Museum's collection of fourteen Tom Lovell paintings and a two-volume history of the Permian Basin by Samuel D. Myres, Era of Discovery and Era of Advancement. Publications pertaining to the permanent collection include:

1. Permian: A Continuing Saga

2. Photographic Collections in Texas: A Union Guide

3. Early Texas Oil: A Photographic History 1866-1936

4. Oil in West Texas and New Mexico

Text by Walter Rundell, Jr., copyright 1982 by The Permian Basin Petroleum Museum Library and Hall of Fame, 183 pages. Published for The Permian Basin Petroleum Museum Library and Hall of Fame by Texas A&M University Press, College Station. Entire book of 241 photos of the Permian Basin, includes 2 maps and 9 illustrations.

5. Docent Manual for The Permian Basin Petroleum Museum Library and Hall of Fame

6. The Permian Basin Era of Discovery, Era of Advancement

Funded by the Abell-Hanger Foundation of Midland. Contains chapter of the formation of the Petroleum Museum. The Permian Press, El Paso, Texas. Volume I contains over 200 photos of oil well and oil field activities, boom towns, and portraits of men and women of the oil and gas industry. Volume II contains nearly 200 photos.

7. Life in the Oil Fields

By Roger M. and Diane Olien, copyright 1986, 258+ pages. Texas Monthly Press, Austin. Written with the use of hundreds of photos and taped interviews, including those from The Petroleum Museum Archives.

8. Join the Excitement!

9. Tom Lovell: Storyteller with a Brush

Autobiography narrated by Tom Lovell of Santa Fe, celebrated western artist 1909-1997, who painted 14 masterpieces of work, commissioned by The Abell-Hanger Foundation of Midland. These paintings are on loan to this museum and are part of the West Wing exhibits. In 1992, Lovell gave the museum 67 original "working drawings" from eight of these paintings. This exhibit of his 67 original drawings are on temporary exhibit in the museum's West Wing Gallery and will more than likely become a traveling exhibit. Copyright 1995 by The Petroleum Museum. Half-inch video: 29 minutes. Produced by CQ Productions, Dallas.

Facilities

68,000 square feet total; 40,000 square feet exhibition area; 120-person auditorium (80-person seating with tables); 180-person performance area; wheelchair accessible; other services available for people with disabilities.

Programs

The museum offers several types of educational programs. The docent program currently has over 30 trained volunteers to provide docented tours for students and adults. The museum provides tours each school year for all of the city's 4th and 8th grade students. Schools throughout the Permian Basin also incorporate the Petroleum Museum into their curriculum. Our pre-visit puppet show, also provided by volunteers, prepares elementary students for their field trip by dramatizing Permian Basin history and introducing important petroleum concepts.

Outreach programs are also available to area schools and groups. Museum staff and volunteers provide programs covering geology, fossils, Midland history, Indians, and dinosaurs. Museum camp-ins offer scout groups an overnight experience while providing quality educational programs pertaining to the evening's theme.

The museum's Brown Bag Lunch series brings various speakers to the museum covering area history and industry topics several times a year.

Staff

Jane Phares, Executive Director

Kathy Shannon, Director of Education

Twila White, Gift Shop Manager

Nancy Wantuck, Director of Development

Betty Orbeck, Director of Archives

Vicki Cain, Finance Manager

A.J. Schnur, Facilities Supertendent

Museum Type

Art
Library
Specialized

Governance

Type: 501 (c) (3)

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