The Museum of North Texas History is located in Wichita Falls, Texas, around an hour from Fort Worth. First settled by cattle ranchers in the mid-1800s, the area was named for its falls. The falls, however, were destroyed in 1886 and recreated a century later!
Linda’s Pick of the Exhibits
I grew up on a steady stream of old tv westerns, so admit I’m drawn to exhibits showcasing those lifestyles. And the Museum of North Texas History had lots to choose from!
Heritage Hall stood out for its western hat collection known as Nat’s Hats. It consists of 500 hats collected over Nat Fleming’s fifty years of operating The Cow Lot western wear store.
The gist of Nat’s story is that whenever someone purchased a new hat, they could leave the old one behind. Nat put his name on it and hung it from the rafters. So, some of the hats are really well worn!
There are few items in the history of American culture that carry the same iconic weight as the cowboy hat. It is the one item of apparel that can be worn in any corner of the world and receive immedicate recognition. Cowboy hats have long been a part of the American culture and heritage; a symbol for a tough and working breed.
~ The Museum of North Texas History
But how did the tradition actually start? It began in 1953 as a joke when the store opened. Nat’s brother sent him an old 10-gallon hat that had belonged to Charles Falwell to celebrate.
However, the hat had a bullet hole in the brim that remained a mystery. Nat, not to be outdone, hung the hat on a rafter in the store for all to see. Soon customers were doing the same thing even without bullet holes!
What books about outlaws did Linda write?
Cowboy Boot History
During our visit, we also saw the museum’s rotating western boot collection. From well-worn to brand-new, it’s a very diverse collection giving the history of various boot manufacturers. I found it fascinating.
Fast Fact: Nocona Boots was founded in Nocona, Texas, (47 miles from Wichita Falls) by Enid Justin. She'd been working in her father's bootmaking shop since she was 12, and refused to move with other family members to Ft. Worth with the existing Justin Boots brand in 1925. With a $5000 loan and seven employees, she created her own successful bootmaking company. Learn more about her in the biography, This Lady Makes Boots.
What’s in the Museum of North Texas History?
The Museum of North Texas History opened in 2001 in downtown Wichita Falls. The collection is housed in an 18,500 square foot area on the main floor of the Lindemann building.
There are two large exhibit halls:
- Heritage Hall: home of Nat’s Hats, various storefronts, reproduction of the Wichita Daily Times newspaper, saddles, horse and buggy, and more.
- Ralph O. Harvey, Jr. Exhibit Hall: contains rotating and traveling exhibits along with displays like the Uniforms of American Airmen and Legacy of the Iron Lung exhibit.
As well as the two halls, the museum as 15 other display rooms and spaces. Its permanent exhibits include:
- Generations of Play
- Oil & Gas history of the area
- Bill English Military Collection
- Medical
- Mary Thomas Doll & Toy Collection
- Children’s Exhibit – interactive exhibit for children added in 2019
From the Exhibits
The museum does an excellent job of archiving the history around artifacts in its collection.
When it comes to music, the museum exhibits include a player piano, pump organ, radios and more.
Fast Fact: Radiola I radios first appeared in 1922. The museum has a 1926 model, which sold for $250.00. Although the first radiolas had poor reception, starting in 1925 they had an amplifier that boosted the power transmitted to the speakers.
For novelty items, there’s a horse hoof in the form of a jewelry box that gets a lot of attention. The jewelry box story revolves around two ranch hands who stole some horses to rob the Wichita Falls City National Bank in 1896.
Unfortunately for the novice robbers, one of the horses was shot during the escape. That left two cowboys on one horse. And well… it didn’t take long for the lynch mob to catch the robbers and hang them.
After the deed was done, a ranch foreman cut a hoof off of the dead horse. He presented it to his sister-in-law in the form of a jewelry box. The one illustrated above is fabled to be the very hoof from the robbery.
There’s coverage of both WWI and WWII, along with a larger-than average set of dislays for the Vietnam War.
Fast Fact: MCI rations were used from 1958 to 1980 and had 12 different menus. Each package weighed just under 2 pounds and contained approximately 1200 calories.
Children’s Museum Attractions
There’s lots of information about children’s toys and games popular over the last century. Crayola Crayons, for example, were inducted into the Strong National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998. However, that’s not when they were first manufactured.
How old are Crayola Crayons?
Crayola Crayons were introduced in 1903 by cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith and their Binney & Smith Company. They were multi-colored, non-toxic wax sticks or crayons.
The wax sticks were dubbed Crayola by Edwin’s wife, Alice Binney. She combined the French words for chalk (craie) and oily (olea from oleaginous) to make Crayola.
In the 125+ years since their introduction, Crayola has created 170 different colors. However, they maintain a list of just 120 colors at a time. So, some colors are retired when a new one is developed.
Three billion crayons are manufactured and sold each year!
You’ll also see lots of viewmasters, easy-bake ovens, hot wheels cars and tracks, and so much more!
The Mary Thomas Doll & Toy Collection is very interesting, whether you played with dolls yourself or just admire their realism.
Linda’s Road Trip Tips
We arrived in Wichita Falls in time for brunch and hit one of my favorite Southern chains – Cracker Barrel. The meal was, as usual, excellent.
Remember those Wichita Falls waterfalls that were rebuilt after a century? Here’s more info.
If you have time for a walk, there are parking areas available to see it.
After our short stop, it was off to Fort Worth on the Interstate highways.
We were pleased to find a number of museums we wanted to see grouped together in the Fort Worth Cultural District.
My favorite? The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have more time to explore Fort Worth and its many attractions. Instead we headed further south towards our eventual destination in Galveston, Texas.
Who Should Visit the Museum of North Texas History?
The Museum of North Texas History has lots to offer all generations.
The children’s center will keep smaller children busy, while older kids will enjoy the many toy and doll displays.
Free admission adds another appealing feature for families.
Those interested in Texas history will find many great exhibits and their stories.
Indeed, one of the strengths of this museum is in the connections it makes to the community and surrounding area.
All of the exhibits are on the main floor with ample space to move between rooms. We did find, however, that it was easy to miss displays with the room configurations. Luckily, a curator spotted us walking around and came out to make sure we didn’t miss Nat’s Hats!
We spent a couple of hours, but that was definitely rushed.
How Do You Visit the Museum of North Texas History?
When it comes to location, the Museum of North Texas History is easy to find in downtown Wichita Falls.
Parking: There's ample street parking right beside the museum, especially if you're early in the day.
Street Address: 720 Indiana Avenue, Wichita Falls, Texas, USA.
Get visiting hours and days open on the Museum of North Texas History website.
Find out what’s happening on the Museum of North Texas History Facebook page.
Meet the executive director of the Museum of North Texas History on YouTube.
Plan your visit with Google maps.
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Check out more museum reviews for museum attractions in Texas on guide2museums.com
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