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Annual Museum Fish Fry Scheduled August 31st
Everyone mark your calendars for the Columbia Historical Museum's third annual fundraising fish fry which will be held...
Museum Will Host Fall Style Show Sept. 21st
The Columbia Historical Museum, 247 East Brazos Avenue in West Columbia, will be the site for a Fall Style Show on...
Beryl’s Destruction Topped by Deadly ’32 Storm
By Tracy Gupton While residents of the West Columbia area are still recovering from the severe damage and massive tree...
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...
Ima Hogg: A Classy Lady, Texas Style
By Ben Tumlinson When I was a boy, I used to snicker when I heard her name. As an adult with four daughters of my own, I often pondered what possessed a father to name his daughter, “IMA HOGG”. Well, I am no longer in the dark. According to a collaborative article...
Texans Remember the 186th Anniversary of Goliad Massacre
Goliad re-enactment: 36th Annual Goliad Massacre and Living History Program -Reenactors and Living Historians from across Texas gather at Presidio La Bahia to recreate the final days of Col. Fannin’s command. The event will be March 26 and 27th. For more information,...
Women, children ran for their lives ahead of Mexican Army
By Susan Avera Holt Columbia Historical Museum Board Member Illiterate, alone in the world, and a mother and widow at 22-years old, Susanna Dickinson survived the horrors of the Alamo only to be interrogated by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and sent on an errand...