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Orange
Grove
Area
Museum
“
Texas
Area Historical Museum”
A group of
concerned citizens gathered in the late fall of 1998 to discuss the impending
loss of two great treasures: the
elderly and the area history they carry with them.
Something, they decided, must be done.
Sam and Corolyn Armstrong donated a building on the main street downtown
and from this humble meeting came the
Orange
Grove
Area
Museum
, established to become THE teaching museum for
South Texas
history and associated artifacts.
The
teaching museum concept, a living testimony is alive and kept well by our team
of dedicated volunteers, local historians, artisans, crafters, actors,
educators, city leaders and citizens. The
Orange
Grove
Area
Museum
is not your typical stroll through, static
museum. The
Orange
Grove
Area
Museum
is the unique accumulation of early pioneer
relics, depictions of early frontier life and the peoples who lived it.
It is reflection of history viewed in the present, looking toward the
future. It is a museum that truly
encourages hands-on exploration, imagination and integration of cultures and
generations. Without community input
from descendents of early English, German, Mexican, Austrian, Czech, Bohemians,
Irish and Polish founders, the premise for our eclectic collections of cultural
influences would have been lost to future generations.
It is this sense of historical pride and community-wide cooperation that
helps our museum continue to be a link between cultures and generations.
Orange
Grove
Area
Museum
is a museum for all ages and backgrounds to
enjoy, experience and learn about numerous peoples and cultures and how they
were has helped shape who we are today.
As
a teaching museum, the
Orange
Grove
Area
Museum
allows for hands-on experiences as you enter
replicas of early frontier life. In
addition to settler-family and early exhibits, visitors may tour through our log
cabin covered wagon; both completely furnished with items from the era.
They may examine, imagine and reminisce about other forms of early
transportation. Transcripts are
available to read as well as a listening station where you can listen to the
interviews with settlers and their descendents in the library.
Our
most recent acquisition stands to be one of our greatest – a 1915 Rock Island
Lines caboose was saved from certain demission.
The concerted efforts of the Nueces Company Agriculture Extension Agency,
the Texas Mexican Railway, Lone Star Track Maintenance, Kuhn Crane Company,
Ainsworth Trucking Company, a welder, Valero Refinery and various individuals
donated their services to the museum. Larry
Taber, project director and mentor for numerous volunteers, restored the caboose
and helped to obtain funding for the project.
We addressed public interest in early development of
South Texas
with the preservation of this caboose that
highlights our outdoor western town exhibit.
This exhibit also sets the stage for re-enactment gunfights during our
Pioneer Days celebration and show. Pioneers
Days offers opportunity for viewing and demonstrations in pioneer life:
early tools, farm implements, food storage, textiles and leisure
activities.
A
special dedicated room has been set aside for Veterans, and features exhibits of
WWI – current day uniforms, stories, photos, and related paraphernalia.
The wall of honor has photos and excerpts from local veterans.
Civil war memorabilia is also on display.
The Veterans room is furnished with tables and chairs for study and
viewing videos of recorded history from some of our area “Old-Timers”.
While
our museum stands to preserve and present
South Texas
history, it also strives to continue to
strengthen the ties between generations past and present, and to continue to
play a vital role in the community. The
Orange
Grove
Area
Museum
is a sponsor for the Save a Student program
for the local school. More than a
dozen area youth have been able to participate in this mentoring service program
that teaches self-confidence, job skills, social skills and personal
responsibility. To date there have
been no high school dropouts from program participants.
Additionally, school truant officers and city courts utilize this
community program for service for over thirty clients since the program’s
inception only two years ago.
The
Orange
Grove
Area
Museum
is fully accessible, and utilizes a
multifaceted delivery system of information: oral, written, audio and video.
Well-educated tour guides walk and talk each visitor through the entire
museum, encouraging interactions and answering questions.
It is not unusual to visit the museum while descendents of featured
exhibits are present to add more depth and interest to your tour.
The
museum is located about 35 miles west of
Corpus Christi
off of Hwy 624.
The size of the museum is approximately 2,000 square feet of exhibit
space. We serve about a 50-mile
radius that covers a lot of history from pre-Civil War to the present.
The
Orange
Grove
Area
Museum
is a
Texas
Area
Historical
Museum
because we ARE
Texas
– diverse and dedicated.
We love to teach and tell great stories, and we thrive on seeing others
learn and teach them again and again.
Orange
Grove
Area
Museum
is as alive and well as our great state is,
and it is truly an in-depth accumulation of experience and knowledge of what has
helped make this
South Texas
region what it is today.
Our skilled staff of mentors and volunteers strives to bring alive
South Texas
history in a manner that is easy to understand
and a fascination to recall. We
believe that a good
museum
of
Texas
history is one that actively integrates the past, present and future
via the vehicle of experiential, interactive learning and monitoring.
It is also one that links the generations and cultures through
educational and community involvement. These
things make our museum unique. All
in all the
Orange
Grove
Area
Museum
has a great collection of the area’s
history. The
Orange
Grove
Area
Museum
is alive and well kept as an active, teaching,
community museum.
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