Capturing North Texas History

Capturing North Texas History Vernon museum dazzles with state-of-the-art displays

Though its exterior is plain, inside the Red River Valley Museum is a treasure trove of North Texas history specific to the Vernon area, beginning with its prehistoric days.

The J. Henry & Ethel Ray collection of North American archeological artifacts numbered more than 10,000 items when it was donated to the museum in the 1960s. The collection spurred the birth and growth of the museum.

While the museum's relics did give a glimpse into Vernon's past, they felt it didn't tell the whole story. When the museum's board took stock of items in its basement in 2012, they realized the already had an extraordinary museum that just needed improvement.

"What we decided to do is let's take a look at what we have in this building, the exhibits that we've had, and I think we'd kind of just forgotten how special they were ... We had kind of forgotten what we had." - Staley Heatly, Museum board president

With a renewed focus, the museum began its Western Trail Campaign in 2014 to create exciting, interactive and interesting displays that capture the mind, hearts and imaginations of guests of all ages.

It held its grand opening in December 2015, telling the complete story of Vernon, from a 200 million-year-old fossil found in Wilbarger County to Great Western Cattle Trail, Doan's Crossing & Waggoner Ranch.

Included in the museum is an exhibit of sculptures created by Electra Waggoner Biggs. Her subjects include President Harry Truman, actor Bob Hope and many other noted businessmen and philanthropists.

The museum also houses the William Bond Wild Game Exhibit, containing an extensive collection of exotic animals from around the world.

Bond explored the world for a variety of exotic game, including a massive Polar bear and a saiga antelope from Siberia. The exhibit contains one of the most extensive collections in the world, featuring more than 130 pieces of the Vernon native's trophies, including rare and amazing animals.

"We included as many people as we could so that we were bringing in the community ... If you're going to have a project like this and have it be successful you've got to have buy-in from a number of different people in the community." - Staley Heatly

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Capturing North Texas History Vernon museum dazzles with state-of-the-art displays

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