Hutchinson County (Texas) Historical Museum

The Hutchinson County Historical Museum is located at 618 North Main Street in Borger, Texas

The Hutchinson County Historical Museum is a museum in Borger in Hutchinson County in the Texas Panhandle with more than sixty exhibits spanning the period from the 16th-century expedition of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado to the petroleum boom of the 1920s. The museum opened in 1977 in a two-story building constructed in 1927.[1]

Borger was established in 1926 after the discovery of the Panhandle oil field. A boomtown of tents and shacks quickly appeared, and the population reached some forty thousand. In time, orderly growth prevailed, and Borger became a center for oil, chemicals, and cattle. The skyline is dominated by oil towers and petroleum plants. Borger is the home of the two-year Frank Phillips College.[2]​

Exhibits encompass history, culture, and art items. Annual events include African-American History in February, Oil Boom Heritage in March, Cinco de Mayo Heritage in May, the Beach Bash and Old West Heritage in June, the Quilt Show in July, Native American Awareness in November, and Christmas in December.[1]

Old West Heritage Month features community treks to sites near the county seat of Stinnett,: the First Battle of Adobe Walls in 1864 and the Second Battle of Adobe Walls in 1874, in which Quanah Parker (died 1911) surrendered his Comanche resistance to white settlement. The battle ended with a 7/8 of a mile shot fired by bison hunter, Billy Dixon. The museum observes the birthday of Stinnett each September.[1]​ ​ In 1980, the Hutchinson County Historical Commission published The History of Hutchinson County, which is used as a reference for the article on the history of Borger in The Handbook of Texas.[3] The museum directs visitors to the historical markers available in Borger and throughout Hutchinson County.[4]​

The current museum director, Clayborn Charles "Clay" Renick (born 1953),[5][6] is an employee of the Hutchinson County Commissioners Court.

The museum is located downtown at 618 North Main Street. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. The museum is near the restored Morley Theater and Borger City Hall.[7]

## References[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Boomtown Revisited," brochure of Hutchinson County Historical Museum, Borger, Texas.
2. ↑ Borger. Lone-star.net (August 24, 2004). Retrieved on April 9, 2020.
3. ↑ H. Allen Anderson. Borger, Texas. The Handbook of Texas on-line. Retrieved on April 9, 2020.
4. ↑ Fort Tours: Hutchinson County Historical Markers. forttours.com. Retrieved on April 9, 2020.
5. ↑ Clayborn Renick. Mylife.com. Retrieved on April 9, 2020.
6. ↑ Clay Renick hired as new museum director. The Borger News-Herald (2012; exact date missing). Retrieved on April 9, 2020.
7. ↑ Texas Transportation Commission, 2008 State Travel Guide, pp. 110-111.

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