New Exhibits at the Texas State History Museum

Commencing this month the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas, will open two new exhibits.

Texas State Parks and the Civilian Conservation Corps 

In collaboration with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the Bullock Texas State History Museum will open Texas State Parks and the Civilian Conservation Corps on February 1, 2013, in the 3rd Floor Rotunda Gallery.  Photographs, maps, postcards, newsletters, and original furniture will highlight the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the parks built between 1933 and 1942.

By way of background, in the 1930s, the United States was in the throes of a financial depression.  Businesses were not hiring and many young Americans lacked the skills or experience they needed to get the few jobs that did exist.  When Franklin Roosevelt became president in 1933, he created the CCC to provide jobs and training to men between the ages of 17 and 25 and also out-of-work World War I veterans.

The Texas legislature had created the Texas State Parks Board in 1923, but declined to fund the development of land into state parks.  Within days of Roosevelt’s creation of the CCC, Texas Governor Miriam Ferguson submitted a proposal to the federal government requesting funding for 26 CCC projects – which led to 97 work camps across the state.

Although most camps were devoted to soil-conservation and erosion-control projects, about 27 camps were responsible for the development of state parks.  They constructed roads and bridges, built cabins, prepared hiking trails and campsites, and fabricated furniture.

Today, TPWD manages 29 CCC-built parks that form the core of the state park system. Many of the original CCC buildings and features are still in existence and continue to provide recreational opportunities for Texans.

Enduring Women: A Photography and Oral History Exhibit

Women working the land in Texas today as ranchers and farmers continue to shape the state, adapting to and overcoming whatever nature or man throws at them.  Enduring Women, a new photography and oral history exhibit at the Bullock Texas State History Museum, celebrates the importance of place in the lives of these Texans and explores their stories in their own words. 

The Bullock Museum has partnered with St. Edward’s University to highlight undergraduate creative research in the fields of oral history, art history, and photography for a unique companion exhibit, Enduring Women.  Held in conjunction with the special exhibition Women Shaping Texas in the 20th Century, on view now in the Museum’s Albert and Ethel Herzstein Hall, the photography and oral histories of Enduring Women are presented by students of St. Edward’s University School of Humanities and School of Behavioral and Social Sciences.  Both exhibits will be on view in the Herzstein Hall through May 19, 2013. 

Enduring Women features 12 real Texas women who work the land. These women personify fortitude as they tackle back-breaking work to protect and preserve their family heritage. Hear their stories in their own words and witness the daily lives of these remarkable Texas women who have endured – sometimes for generations – in their stewardship of the land. 

Enduring Women is on view from February 2 to May 19, 2013, in the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Hall of Special Exhibitions.

Admission to the Museum is structured as follows: $9 for adults; $8 for college students (with valid ID); $7 for seniors/military (with valid ID); $6 for youth ages 4-17, free for ages 3 and under.  In addition, members of the Bullock Texas State History Museum are admitted free.

The Museum, located at 1800 North Congress Avenue at the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard in downtown Austin, Texas, is open daily from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Saturday; Sunday’s hours are from noon to 6:00 PM.  

Additional information about the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum may be found at: http://thestoryoftexas.com/.