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WC Museum Hosts Guest Speaker Kneupper Saturday
October is Texas Archaeology Month. The Columbia Historical Museum will host a program Saturday, October 19th, at 2...
Saturday’s Museum Program Features Guest Speaker Larry Pearl Addressing “Cherokee Heritage” in Lone Star State
Larry Pearl will be the guest speaker Saturday at the Columbia Historical Museum in West Columbia Cherokee Heritage...
Aviation Pioneer Had Ties to West Columbia
By Tracy Gupton Historic Columbia Cemetery is the final resting place of 1930s aerial speed record holder Jimmie...
Hollywood Starlet Hails from West Columbia
Reflecting on a life well lived, Olive Kathryn Grandstaff Crosby beams with pride knowing her childhood dreams were achieved. The little girl who used to swing in the backyard hammock on East Bernard Street and gaze through the canopy of oak and pecan leaves at the...
Birth of Father’s Day Traced to West Columbian
By Tracy Gupton Columbia Historical Museum Board Member A direct line to the creation of Father’s Day is blurred by history. But when researching the origin of the annual holiday Americans observe in recognition of beloved dads, that line becomes more sharply focused...
Charlie Brown Supported Early Juneteenth Celebrations
Charles Brown. (Photo from A Sure Foundation & A Sketch of Negro Life in Texas by A.W. Jackson) By Susan Avera Holt Columbia Historical Museum Board Member June 19th. Emancipation Day. Freedom Day. Emancipation Day is officially Jan. 1, 1863, but slaves in Texas...
West Columbia’s John B. Hanson was one Tough ‘Ombre
By Benjamin Tumlinson Columbia Historical Museum Board Member Being removed from Memorial Day by less than a week, the sacrifice of those who served is probably fresh in our memories. On the heels of this sacred day of remembrance is the anniversary of a great...
Ferries: The lifeline to early Columbia
By Benjamin Tumlinson Columbia Historical Museum I had the privilege of living in six states and two other countries, not counting the United States. As I traveled in these other states and foreign lands, I would often gaze out at the various landscapes and daydream...
History of Masons in Texas traces back to founders of Republic
The second Masonic Lodge, located on Broad Street. The downstairs was the Q+P Food Store. To the right of the lodge is the First Capitol State Bank. Photo courtesy of Scott Leopold, from his book “Masons in the Early Days of Texas”
Renowned artist painted museum’s mural
Photo courtesy Columbia Historical Museum. “Columbia, The First Capitol of Texas” mural painted by George E. Shackelford was commissioned by the directors of the First Capitol State Bank and unveiled at the grand opening of the bank on July 22, 1950. By Benjamin...
Kittie Nash Groce: colorful, resilient rancher and socialite
By Tracy Gupton A speaker summed it up perfectly when addressing the role Kittie Nash Groce played during her illustrious lifetime in the quaint community of West Columbia, Texas. On May 3, 1958, at a memorial appreciation dinner in Kittie’s honor, the speaker...
Columbia Rosenwald School celebrates 20 years of care from museum
Interpretive Center offers tours of 100-year-old, fully-restored building Cindi Ericson gave the child a small slate and a piece of chalk and asked her to write her name. Writing your name with chalk - such a small thing, but the child’s smile was big, and so was...
Dance family produced guns superior to Colt pistols
By Tracy Gupton Greene County, Alabama, had been home for most of the Dance family members who would eventually make a name for themselves in Brazoria County history. First cousins James Henry Dance and James Watkins Dance came to Texas on horseback in 1848 from...
Old 300 buried in Historic Columbia Cemetery
By Tracy Gupton Columbia Historical Museum Board Member "The Old 300" refers to settlers in Stephen F. Austin's original colony in the Mexican province of Texas. Historic Columbia Cemetery in West Columbia is the final resting place of a handful of those whose...
Stephen F. Austin Issued Some Native Tribes Passports 
By Christina M. DeWitt Columbia Historical Museum Board Member Since I was a child, I’ve always been a darker shade from others. One of my first memories was visiting my great grandmother’s house in Oklahoma. She lived in a small town down the road from the Cherokee...