Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Some museums take hours to explore. But imagine touring a small home filled with pieces from various families’ priceless collections. That’s how the Daughters of the Republic of Texas museum in Austin got its start.

Nelma Wilkinson, President General of the organization, explains the role Texas women had, and still have, in preserving Texas’ rich past.

They organized a museum over 100 years ago. Women in Austin, Texas, who were members of the William Barrett Travis chapter, which was the third chapter formed in Texas, those women had artifacts they had collected from their families, who had been involved in the Texas Revolution.

So the museum began in their homes, and eventually the legislators let them have a little corner over at the Capitol. They put their prized possessions over there to share with other people. Well, it wasn’t long before they outgrew that corner, so the legislators gave them space at the old land office building, and they had the second floor as their museum.

Now, it has been moved to our headquarters and we have a fantastic museum. I guess we’re the best kept secret in Austin. So few people know that we have this terrific museum there, but it’s just a treasure chest.

Learn more about the museum: http://www.drt-inc.org/museum.htm .

That’s our show for today…with research and writing help from Loren Seeger…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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