THE COWBOY COUNTRY MUSEUM
113 S. Wetherbee
Stamford, Texas 79553
325-773-2411
The Cowboy Country Museum was opened in 1977 with donated items from past and present residents. The Museum is proud to have on exhibition four (4) saddles, some of which are trophy saddles won here at our local Texas Cowboy Reunion Rodeo held around July 4th each year. The Museum has most of the programs from the beginning of the Rodeo back in the 1930’s until present. The Rodeo has been a yearly event with the exception of one year, due to the war. Will Rogers attended the Texas Cowboy Reunion Rodeo one month before his death. The Museum is also one of the few museums to have on loan an original chuck wagon from the Swenson Ranches. Swenson Ranches is still one of the largest ranches in Texas, with ranches in Jones, Shackelford and Throckmorton Counties.
We have a room exhibiting what a typical home might look like in the early 1900’s. The room contains a cradle, table with chairs, spinning wheel, treadle sewing machine, china cabinet complete with period china ware, handle-crank wall telephone, 1935 ice box and a 1930’s cook stove. An original Coke vending machine is a favorite, used to dispense bottle Cokes at 15 cents each. In our farm implement display, we have items used from the 1920’s until the 1970’s. We also have a wild hog head and rattlesnake displayed.
The Museum has newspapers dated from 1896 to present. There are also annuals from the flight school that was located at our local airport to train pilots for the war effort. There are many books of pictures, as well as framed pictures from 1900 to 2005. School annuals date from 1920’s to 1970’s, as well as scrapbooks of different time periods. The Museum also has a large display of art items, which number over forty (40), including five (5) bronze sculptures.
The Cowboy County Museum has many more items on display, too numerous to list. Each time you visit, you find something you had not noticed before. We continue to update our displays, due to items being donated sometimes daily! The Museum is open Monday thru Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Our historian, Sandra Rhea is available for tours and questions from visitors Monday thru Wednesday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. There is no charge to visit the Museum, but appreciate donations to help preserve our displays for future generations of tourists. We hope you will consider visiting “The Cowboy Country Museum” on your next visit to Stamford!
MUSEUM BOARD MEMBERS