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Local Masons Recognize Columbia Historical Museum
THE COLUMBIA HISTORICAL MUSEUM was recognized "for their great work in preserving our history and being a great part...
Memorial Day: Somber Reminder of Those Who Gave All
By Tracy Gupton The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., is a prominent national memorial dedicated to the...
Father’s Day Focus of Museum Saturday Program
Local Masons Recognize Columbia Historical Museum
THE COLUMBIA HISTORICAL MUSEUM was recognized "for their great work in preserving our history and being a great part of our community" at the May 29th meeting of the Frontier Masonic Lodge No. 28 in West Columbia. Accepting the Community Grant at the recent meeting...
Memorial Day: Somber Reminder of Those Who Gave All
By Tracy Gupton The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., is a prominent national memorial dedicated to the men and women who served in the Vietnam War. The memorial's most striking feature is the wall itself, inscribed with the names of the more than 58,000...
WC Powerlifting Pioneer Passes Away at 85
Another member of the Roughnecks state semifinals football team of 1957 has passed away. James Bramlitt Caldwell Jr. died May 17, 2025, in San Angelo at the age of 85. A graveside funeral service at the Santa Anna Cemetery was held earlier today, Saturday, May 24,...
Fallen County Deputy’s Killer Dealt with Immediate Justice as in Old Brazoria County Frontier Days
By Tracy Gupton Fourteen years had passed since a Brazoria County lawman had been killed in the line of duty. It was January 15, 2025, when Brazoria County Sheriff's Deputy Jesus "Jesse" Vargas was fatally shot in the head in the parking lot of a strip center in...
Brewer’s 1927 Senior Year Scrapbook Sparks Memories of West Columbia High School’s Forgotten ‘Magic Years’
By Tracy Gupton Babe Ruth set a new Major League Baseball record by mashing 60 home runs. Gutzon Borglum began work on sculpting Mount Rushmore. The first TV picture was successfully sent from Washington, D.C., to New York City. And many West Columbians gathered...
Learn About Texas Flags Saturday at the Museum
The Columbia Historical Museum's "First Saturday of the Month" programs at the Rosenwald School are primarily directed at entertaining and enlightening the youth of the West Columbia area. But this Saturday's program is for all ages. "Flags and Maps of Texas" is the...
WC Vietnam Vet Remembered Decade After His Death
By Tracy Gupton He was born in the middle of World War II in a small home in the old oil fields near West Columbia. He was a proud 1961 graduate of West Columbia High School. And he always took great pride in being one of the 2.7 million American service members who...
Scrapbook Keeps WCHS Class of 1925’s Memories Alive
By Tracy Gupton I have really enjoyed thumbing through the yellowed pages of the scrapbook put together by Mogene Clayton 100 years ago. My fellow Columbia Heritage Foundation board member Karen Rowold Mostyn was kind enough to loan me her grandmother’s book of...
Museum’s Runaway Scrape Ball Planned April 5th
By Tracy Gupton Our neighboring town of Brazoria's museum has its popular annual Santa Anna Ball. In 2025, some 189 years removed from the historic event, the Columbia Historical Museum's Board of Directors is making plans to initiate a similar celebration with hopes...
Longtime Roughnecks Coach Derrich Passes Away at 82
By Tracy Gupton Funeral services for former Columbia Roughnecks Athletics Director and Head Football Coach Ed Derrich will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 7, 2025, at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church, 807 Loggins Drive, in West Columbia. Ed, who is a former...
Public Invited to Curator’s Sunday Program at WC Museum About East Columbia’s Role in Texas Independence
Columbia Historical Museum Curator Michael Bailey will be examining the role of East Columbia in early Texas history in general and more specifically the local community's role in the Texas War for Independence when he speaks on the subject at a special program this...