(Canyon)—How did the state’s largest historical museum end up at West Texas A&M University?
Hattie
Anderson
The story began when Hattie Anderson moved to Canyon in 1920 to teach history at West Texas State Normal College, now West Texas A&M University. She was captivated by the people she met, many of whom were the area’s original settlers, and organized an effort to collect and preserve their history.
In early 1921, Anderson led an effort with History Department Chairman L.F. Sheffy, seven other faculty members and about 30 students to organize the Panhandle-Plains Historical Society and began soliciting support for their efforts in the form of Society memberships.
Anderson’s efforts let to what today remains the state’s largest history museum, with 70,000 visitors annually and more than three million artifacts, ranging from the Comanche Chief Quanah Parker’s eagle feather headdress to collections of historic art from New Mexico and Texas.
“This is one of the finest museums in the country and one of the great assets of the A&M System,” said PPHM Director Guy C. Vanderpool. “We are proud of our role in informing visitors about the tremendous cultural heritage of our region and state.”
In 2001, the museum underwent a $5.8 million renovation, redesigning 21,000 square feet of its 200,000-square-foot facility. The museum’s Board of Trustees and staff recently announced another major effort to bring the facility into the computer age.
“The current library and archives is a technological dinosaur,” said Vanderpool. “It relies on a card catalogue that is not on a computer database and is not accessible to off-site researchers. None of our 33,095 photographs or collection of secondary books is indexed on a computer.”
Vanderpool and his staff have begun working with H. Paul Haiduk, director of academic computing and instructor in the Department of Computer Information Systems at WTAMU, and his students to address the technology needs of the library and archives to make the entire collection accessible via the Internet.
“The project will take several years but the rewards will be long-lasting and far-reaching,” Vanderpool said. Other new developments include improved storage areas and a new reading room.
The
museum features historic Southwestern art.
Exhibits allow visitors to use the latest interactive technology to experience winter storms and spring thundershowers while in a 1910 Sears & Roebuck kit home, as well as the smell of coffee brewing and beans simmering on a chuckwagon.
The museum houses some of the country’s premier collections of Great Plains paleontology, archeology and ranching history. Its petroleum exhibits are among the best in the nation, and its photographs are found in everything from textbooks to shows on the History Channel.
The museum also contains exhibits about the Texas Oil Boom of the ‘20s and ‘30s, and the region’s progression from trails to rails; ancient creatures such as a prehistoric rhinoceros and Allosaurus; and the formation of Palo Duro Canyon, the nation’s second-largest canyon.
Temporary exhibits include masterpieces of American Indian art featuring baskets, beadwork, pottery, textiles, jewelry, paintings and sculpture (opening May 20); photographs of contemporary cowboys by noted photographer Robb Kendrick (through May 28); and about 15 costumes from the Great Depression in the 1930s (through Oct. 29).
Archivists in the Research Center collect, preserve and make accessible the documentary history of the Panhandle-Plains region. This includes a large library of books, manuscripts, historical photographs, oral history interviews and manufacturers’ trade literature.
In addition, an Education Center offers tours and other learning opportunities for school groups from the 26 counties in the Panhandle and beyond.