The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas, is the official state-designated historical center for the Rangers. It includes a hall of fame and artifact repository for the 200+ year-old law enforcement agency. Visitors will find three centuries of history come to life through its stories and artifacts.
Linda’s Pick of the Exhibits
My favorite exhibit in the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum was the Pop Culture Gallery. After all, I spent hours and hours glued to our old black and white tv set watching The Lone Ranger back in the day. Hi-Yo, Silver, Away!
The tv show launched in 1949 and ran for eight seasons. In all, there were 221 episodes–and I probably saw all of them two or three times each through syndication into the 1960s and beyond.
After all, what’s not to enjoy about watching a masked man who lives by a strict moral code saving the West? He was a former ranger who’d survived an ambush that killed five other rangers, thus becoming the “lone” ranger.
Fast Fact: The Lone Ranger first appeared on radio in 1933 to provide an escape from harsh everyday life for listeners. At the time, America was in the grips of the Great Depression. Altogether, there were nearly three thousands radio episodes of The Lone Ranger.
If you’re used to today’s merchandising to promote popular characters, you won’t be surprised at the many artifacts in the exhibit.
The artifacts include:
- Costume for the Lone Ranger
- Posters for tv and movies
- Lone Ranger first aid kit
- Lone Ranger lunch boxes
- Hi-Yo Silver The Lone Ranger target game
- Kid-size brush and comb
- Lone Ranger military brush set
- Saddle bag
- Lone Ranger and Tonto figures
- Comics and coloring books
- Lone Ranger children’s dinnerware set, 1961
- Texas Ranger Lego Building set 1977
- Lone Ranger train chase / stagecoach escape 2013
- Holster and cap guns
Fast Fact: The display also includes information at the 1993 - 2001 tv series, Walker, Texas Ranger with Chuck Norris. Sgt. Cordell Walker was a fictional character also played by Jared Padalecki in a 2020 series reboot.
What’s in the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum?
The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum covers 32 acres. The area is home to the museum, Texas Ranger Research Center, and other buildings. Its core gallery has 14,000+ artifacts. It also holds 2,500 historic firearms belonging to various Hall of Fame inductees. These rotate, so there’s always something new to see.
Six galleries, several named after Waco philanthropists, feature different time periods. They include:
- Homer Garrison Gallery: Garrison was chief of the Rangers and Director for 30 years, from 1938 to 1968
- Ida Morris Gallery: Exhibits on roles of the Texas Rangers from 1935 to 1935
- Joe Troy Brownfield Gallery: Covers 1935 to the present
- Henry J.N. Taub Hall: Assorted exhibits including Wright: A Family of Rangers and White: A Ranger Tradition
- Pop Culture Gallery: Showcase of Texas Rangers in popular culture including radio, film, television, and more
- Distinguished Service: Honors Hall of Fame Inductees and recently retired Rangers
Linda’s Road Trip Tips
The Texas Rangers played a significant role in the state’s history. Indeed, the Rangers are widely recognized as the oldest law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in the U.S.
So, there are a number of museums dedicated to Ranger history.
The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum is the official state museum. However, you can also visit these Texas museums for more information on the Rangers.
- The Buckhorn Museum and Texas Ranger Museum in San Antonio, Texas. See the website for details.
- Texas Ranger Heritage Center in Fredericksburg, Texas. See the website for details.
When it comes to other historic sites, Waco has a number of historic house museums. However, we didn’t get time to take any of them in.
When you’re in Waco, the Dr Pepper Museum is one of the city’s key attractions. It’s well worth your visit to see how making this popular drink has changed over time. You can even blend your own soft drink on your visit!
Who Should Visit the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum?
The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum is a must-see for anyone interested in the history of the frontier, especially Texas.
From the early 1800s to modern Rangers, you’ll learn a lot about the men, and since 1993, the women, who’ve protected Texans.
Visitors are also often drawn to the museum to view its amazing firearms collection.
The 2,500 guns include many rare Ranger firearms along with outlaw items.
Indeed, three long guns recovered from Bonnie and Clyde’s getaway car are part of the collection.
We spent a couple of hours in the museum.
However, we just skimmed through the Hall of Fame as being Canadians, we weren’t familiar with any of the inductees.
The museum is fully wheelchair accessible and ADA compliant. There’s also lots of rooms for strollers, so it’s familiy-friendly. All of the exhibits, restrooms, etc. have ramps and elevators for multi-level navigation.
How Do You Visit the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum?
The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum is situated in Waco, Texas, just off Interstate highway, I-35, between Ft. Worth and Austin.
Parking: There's lots of free parking in front of the museum. There's also designated accessible parking close to the main entrance.
Street Address: 100 Texas Ranger Trail, Waco, TX
The museum is open year-round, but check days, hours, and admission costs on the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum website.
Keep up-to-date with what’s happening on the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum Facebook page.
Take a virtual tour of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum with 25 News KXXV TV on YouTube.
Plan your visit to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum with Google Maps.
More Texas Museum Reviews
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