Historical Marker
North Texas offers a variety of museums to fit every niche.
By Clay Swartz
Denton offers a unique variety of citywide experiences, including Downtown’s Main Street events, a diverse live music scene, and plenty of quirky annual festivals. Even so, one of the city’s most appealing features is its location: Nestled in the heart of North Texas’ rich cultural center, you can travel just a few miles in almost any direction to see some of the state’s most distinguishing—not to mention unusual—niche museums.
One of the area’s most distinctive attractions is just north of Denton in Nocona, near the Oklahoma border. After a short 45-minute drive, visitors will find the Nokona Athletic Goods Company and its Baseball Glove Museum. This small-town attraction offers a guided tour of Nokona’s history of baseball glove manufacturing, telling the story of how one of Texas’ smallest towns ended up as the last U.S. glove manufacturer. It’s no coincidence that Nocona is nicknamed the “Leather goods capital of the Southwest.”
Another unique North Texas attraction is the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary, located in McKinney just 30 minutes east of Denton. Opened in 1967, the museum serves more than 100,000 visitors annually, offering a threefold system of service: education, conservation, and preservation.
The museum offers plenty for the whole family. While visiting the 289-acre wildlife sanctuary, enjoy endless exploring on six nature trails. The museum also gives visitors a chance to sharpen their knowledge on minerals and fossils, marine life, and venomous snakes with several mainstay exhibits and collections. Farmers Branch, just 25 miles southeast of downtown Denton, has a unique park of its own. The Historical Park and Museum, snuggled on 22 historic acres, opened in 1986 and welcomes about 50,000 visitors each year. The museum offers tours, educational programs, and craft workshops.
The park and museum celebrates life as it was more than 150 years ago, re-creating one of the area’s original settlement communities. The Gilbert House, one of the highlights of the establishment, was built in 1856 and is the oldest stone structure in Dallas County still on its original foundation. A small oneroom schoolhouse, one of the first schools in North Texas, still stands on the park grounds. The park’s newest attraction is a replica of a 1930s Marathon Gas Station, which houses an original 1936 Glad Acres Cab Over Engine Ford truck and a replica of a Peters Colony land grant office.
The A.W. Perry Homestead Museum in Carrollton, located 25 miles southeast of Denton, also offers a glimpse of turn-ofthe- century life. A.W. and Sarah Perry were two of the area’s first pioneer homesteaders, coming to the region in 1844 from Carrollton, Ill. Their home and farm, on 640 acres, were built in 1857.
I n 1909, their son, Dewitt Perry, tore down their first house, using much of the original home’s lumber to build the house that stands today. This house is now the museum, which offers visitors tours, workshops, and other exciting events throughout the homestead. When touring the museum grounds, restored in 1976 for the bicentennial, look for the original foundation stones of the first Perry farmhouse in the museum’s backyard.
After a short 30-minute drive south of Denton, you can literally see billions of dollars being printed by walking through a quartermile long enclosed walkway suspended over the cash-production floor at the Fort Worth Bureau of Engraving and Printing. A free 45- minute guided tour of the Bureau is available Monday through Friday and sheds some light on the history of U.S. paper currency and the production process itself.
Not in the mood for a guided tour? Check out the two floors of live interactive exhibits that help illustrate the history of currency and the intricacies of the printing process. Also look for the visitor center that includes a theater, rest stops, and the Moneyfactory Gift Shop.
Spend 35 minutes traveling to the Heritage Farmstead Museum in Plano. Originally built in 1891, the HFM sends you through a virtual time warp to an era when 365-acre spreads with Victorian farmhouses were the norm.
After a $900 thousand restoration, the Heritage Farmstead Museum opened for tours in1986 and currently welcomes 20,000 visitors each year. The turn-of-the-century 14-room Victorian home and grounds give guests a glimpse of life on the Texas prairie from 1890 to 1920. The museum features 12 original outhouses, a one-room schoolhouse, an original 1891 historic kitchen garden, and the 1905 open-geared Aermotor-powered windmill.
When not visiting niche museums, Dallas-based freelance writer Clay Swartz contributes to other Texas publications such as The Austin Chronicle and The Dallas Morning News.
A.W. Perry Homestead Museum
Discover life as it was in north central Texas at the turn of the 20th century when you visit the A.W. Perry Homestead, built in 1909. The family’s water well and foundation stones of the earlier 1857 home are still on site, as is a reproduction of the original barn, root cellar, and windmill. Open 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Admission is free. 1509 N. Perry Road, Carrollton, (972) 466-6380, www.cityofcarrollton.com/museum
Farmers Branch Historical Park
Take a walk through time at the Farmers Branch Historical Park, which offers guided tours, events, and leisure opportunities and is open to the public. The Historical Park boasts an antique rose garden, log culture homes, original railroad depot, caboose, gas station, school, church, and several other historical homes and buildings. 2540 Farmers Branch Lane, Farmers Branch, (972) 406-0184, www.farmersbranch.info
The Heard Nature Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary
Enjoy traveling exhibits, plant sales, summer camps, and dozens of educational programs including scouting and adult workshops, preschool, and home school programs at the Heard Museum. See hundreds of animals and native plant species throughout the 289-acre wildlife sanctuary featuring seven nature trails and five different habitats. Rental facilities, volunteer and membership opportunities available. 1 Nature Place, McKinney, (972) 562-5566, www.heardmuseum.org
Heritage Farmstead Museum
Step back to the turn of the century and enjoy a tour of the Heritage Farmstead Museum. This National Landmark accredited museum features a 14-room 1891 Victorian farmhouse and 12 original outbuildings located on four acres in the center of Plano. Grounds are open for self-guided tours from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, with one docent guided tour daily at 1:30 p.m. 1900 W. 15th St., Plano, (972) 881-0140, www.heritagefarmstead.org
Nokona Athletic Goods Company Baseball Glove Museum
Celebrate America’s favorite pastime at the last major ball glove factory in the United States. The Nokona Athletic Goods Company has continued the tradition of handmade baseball gloves for 74 years. See Nokona gloves being handcrafted from steer hides and visit the Nokona museum. Tours are available 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. 901 E. Hwy. 82, Nocona, (940) 825-3326, www.nokona.com
Fort Worth Bureau of Engraving and Printing: Western Currency Facility
See billions of dollars and learn about the production and history of U.S. paper currency. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s Tour and Visitor Center includes two floors of interactive exhibits, a free tour, an educational movie, and a gift shop. Call to schedule a tour. 9000 Blue Mound Road, Fort Worth (817) 231-4000 or toll-free (866) 865-1194, www.moneyfactory.gov