History exhibitions at The Grace Museum are dedicated to exhibitions that tell the story of the evolving cultural and social history of Abilene and West Texas. The history galleries present changing exhibitions of artifacts curated from both The Grace Museum’s history collection and historically significant objects on temporary loan. In addition, permanent period rooms from 1910, 1928, and 1948 bring the bygone eras to life through recreated parlors, living rooms, and kitchens from each time period.

Now On View

History Galleries

Cultural Heritage Exhibition - Women's History Month

Cultural Heritage Exhibition – Women's History Month

March 1 – March 31, 2023
From Women’s History Day in 1978 to Women’s History Week in the early 1980s, this month was formally established by Congress in 1987. This exhibition highlights some of the early efforts by women in Texas and Abilene in particular with the right to vote, involvement in war efforts, establishing roots in business, and participation in women’s clubs. 
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Smith's Station on the Butterfield

Smith's Station on the Butterfield

December 1 – July 15, 2023
Just over thirty miles northeast of Abilene sits the Chimney Creek Ranch, established in 1876, the ranch is home to cattle and native species along with conserved grasslands and water sources. However, before the ranch was formed, the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, which ran from 1858-1861, made its way through the area. On the ranch stands the remnants of the … History
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Cooling Off with Style: Hand Fans From the Collection

Cooling Off with Style: Hand Fans From the Collection

June 4 – July 15, 2023
This exhibition will feature several hand fans from The Grace Museum’s permanent collection. Fans were not only a functional accessory to keep the wearer cool on the hottest of days, they were also an important style piece in a woman’s wardrobe. Hand fans have a long-storied history going back thousands of years into biblical and ancient Chinese and Japanese times. … History
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Upcoming Exhibitions

Cultural Heritage Exhibition - Earth Month

Cultural Heritage Exhibition – Earth Month

Apr 4 – Apr 29
Earth Month is dedicated to educating the community about and encouraging the care of our environment, offering climate solutions, and promoting sustainability. This exhibition highlights the history and efforts across Texas and in Abilene that promote and caring for our environment through…
Cultural Heritage Exhibition - Asian American and Pacific Islander Month

Cultural Heritage Exhibition – Asian American and Pacific Islander Month

May 2 – May 31
United States Office Of War Information. Chinese-Americans get officer rank. Camp Barkeley, Texas, United States Office Of War Information. The first Chinese-Americans to be commissioned second lieutenants in the Medical Administrative Corps Officer Candidate School have received their bars at…
Cultural Heritage Exhibition - Independence Day

Cultural Heritage Exhibition – Independence Day

Jul 19 – Aug 31
The Grace Museum is collaborating with Abilene Christian University’s Introduction to Public History: Interpreting American Pasts course to create monthly exhibitions that coincide with different cultural heritage months throughout the year. These exhibitions highlight the narratives of various cultural groups…

Past Exhibitions

2023

Cultural Heritage Exhibition – International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Cultural Heritage Exhibition – Black History Month

2022

Cultural Heritage Exhibition – Asian American and Pacific Islander Month

Cooling Off with Style: Hand Fans from the Collection

Cultural Heritage Exhibition – Independence Day

Cultural Heritage Exhibition – Native American Heritage Month

2021

Creating a Community: The State Epileptic Colony in Abilene

Abilene’s Hispanic Heritage Display Committee presents: Entretenimientos: Música, Baile y Radio

From This Day Forward: Wedding Dresses, 1870s-1950s

Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942-1964

A Larger View: Historic Panoramic Photographs

Downtown Abilene: At the Crossroads of Rugged and Refined

2020

Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence

2019

Women’s Fashion Evolution: 1900s – 1920s, from the Permanent Collection

Citizens at Last: The Woman Suffrage Movement in Texas

Downtown Revitalization Beginnings: Part II

Early Photographic Portraits from the Permanent Collection

2018

History of Cameras Before the iPhone

Skyline Maker: The Architecture of David S. Castle

2017

At Play: Children’s Clothing and Toys

Remembering Roy Helen

Downtown Revitalization Beginnings: The Grace 25 Years

2016

Spanish Legacy in Abilene

Always On View

The 3rd floor history galleries are dedicated to displaying permanent and temporary exhibitions of historically significant objects that tell the story of the evolving cultural and social history of Abilene and west Texas. The history galleries also strive to present exhibitions of artifacts curated from The Grace Museum’s permanent history collection. On permanent view are period parlor and kitchen rooms that depict life in Abilene in 1910, 1928, and 1948.

Historic Period Rooms

Evidence remained of the life of the homesteader, but Abilene was beginning to urbanize. An electric streetcar system had just begun service. The state-run Epileptic Colony was celebrating its seventh birthday and was the city’s largest employer. Following drought-breaking rains,…

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Spark

Spark a history connection in our new exploratory space located on the second floor! See objects on display from our permanent history collection and enjoy learning stations that tell the stories of Abilene, the T&P Railway, and other significant things that shaped our West Texas history.

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History of the Building

    • History of the Grace Museum

    History Collections

    The focus of the history collection is historically significant objects that tell the story of the evolving cultural and social history of late 19th and early 20th century Abilene and West Texas. The history collection is composed of over 12,000 objects including textiles, scrapbooks, yearbooks, vintage photographs, furniture, ephemera, personal correspondence, maps, Hotel Grace archives and an extensive Texas and Pacific Railway archive.
    Abilene Fine Arts Museum

    Abilene Fine Arts Museum

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    Hotel Grace

    Hotel Grace

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    Abilene Womens Clubs

    Abilene Womens Clubs

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    Garments and Fashion

    Garments and Fashion

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    Folding Fans

    Folding Fans

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    T&P Collection

    T&P Collection

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    Household Tools

    Household Tools

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    Historic Photographs

    Historic Photographs

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    SEARCH THE COLLECTION ON THE PORTAL TO TEXAS HISTORY

    The West Texas Digital Archives was a collaborative project spearheaded by the Abilene Library Consortium in partnership with 14 libraries, museums, and other institutions around the region to make available over 150,000 unique historical documents, images, and other items to users around the world on the Portal to Texas History.

    Searchable Collections:

    • Scrapbooks of the Abilene Fine Arts Museum

    • Camp Barkeley News 1942-1945

    • Texas & Pacific Railway Collection Photographs

    • The Crutch newsletters, the Reconditioning and Training Service of the Regional Hospital at Camp Barkeley 1944-1945

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