Somervell County Museum, Glen Rose, Texas

At Elm and Vernon Streets in Glen Rose, Texas, is the Somervell County Museum. This museum is about agriculture, history, and geology related to Texas. Many of the fossils on exhibit are from the River Paluxy Whisky Still. The displays at the museum are permanent exhibits.

Visitors are welcome to come to the museum Monday through Saturday 10am to 5pm during the whole year. On Sundays the museum does not open until 1pm and closes at 5pm. Somervell County Museum is such a small place in the big heart of Texas that they display all artifacts for visitors at no charge. However, anyone wishing to help out the museum is more than welcome to leave a donation.

The exhibits will vary from fossils to the moonshine days. There are genuine artifacts such as the moonshiner's still that one can see while at the museum. All artifacts are of historical and geographical significance. For example genealogies are on display about some of the more famous Texans. Native American displays telling the story of their heritage in the state of Texas, the tribes, and other information can be found at the Somervell County Museum. Among the fossils displayed at Somervell are the dinosaur foot tracks a lucky land developer unearthed.

The museum is located in an old courthouse. The courthouse was built in 1893 in the Victorian style. The house itself is listed on the national register of historic landmarks. The exterior was created with limestone. This court house was not built the first time court was in session. Instead across the street from the museum in a local store called Barnards Mill was the original court house. A log cabin was used later, and eventually a 3rd courthouse erected in 1882 hosted court proceedings. Unfortunately in 1883 the court house caught fire and burned. Since the records were lost in the fire and the town really needed to have a courthouse they built the structure that now houses the museum. The new courthouse had a fireproof vault, and was made of limestone so it would not burn down.

A few of the artifacts have been mentioned above that are located in the museum. Some other displays one might find there include the relics from Native Americans and pioneer days. In fact a whole display of the pioneers moving west from the east can be seen at Somervell County Museum.

The museum has a number of rooms for each display. There are cabinets of wood with glass doors that are almost as old as the artifacts being displayed. When one walks into the museum it almost looks like an antique store in some of the areas. An old phonograph, bottles, photos, and much more are on display. The photographs are of individuals who used to live in Texas, and in Glen Rose. Many families have donated their family items to the museum.

School groups are welcome to tour the museum, though reservations are required. The museum needs to keep track of scheduled visitors in case other tours wish to sign up.