Spanish Legacy in Abilene The growth of Mexicans/Mexican-Americans/Hispanics in Abilene, especially after the early 1900s, can be attributed to the need for workers to build the Texas & Pacific Railroad, migrant workers in the cotton fields and nearby farms, and construction and street workers for the growing town of Abilene.  Many Hispanic families moved to California during the Dust Bowl … Spanish Legacy in Abilene

The Grace Museum celebrates its 25th Anniversary in this beautifully restored historic building that sits in the heart of Downtown Abilene. This exhibition highlights the renovation and restoration efforts through photographs, newspapers, and the actual model created in 1986. In 1985, members of the Abilene Preservation League sat with the Abilene Fine Arts Museum to discuss the fate of the … Downtown Revitalization Beginnings: The Grace 25 Years

Roy Helen Herndon Mingus Ackers was not only the “Life of the Party”, she was a businesswoman, a columnist, a mother, a wife, and a supporter of many of the charitable organizations in town. Her legacy will make a lasting impression on the community. This memorial to Roy Helen not only celebrates her colorful life, but also reveals a woman … Remembering Roy Helen

Children’s clothing trends transformed over time similarly to fashion trends for adults. However, the clothing tended to be a little more practical than adult clothing throughout history. The current exhibition, At Play: Children’s Clothing and Toys in the History Gallery at The Grace, highlights a few of these early clothing styles and changes during the early twentieth century. Visitors can also … At Play: Children’s Clothing and Toys

February’s cultural heritage exhibition celebrates Black History Month. The exhibition will discuss various issues that Blacks have faced within the Abilene community such as segregation and desegregation, constant hardships, black leaders who have persevered, and the push for success within their own community.

This exhibition will highlight the career of Abilene architect David S. Castle. As one of the most significant and prominent architects in Abilene and the Big Country in the early to mid-1900s, David S. Castle designed and built hundreds of schools, residential buildings, hotels, medical buildings, municipal buildings, churches, recreational buildings, and courthouses. The exhibition will discuss Castle’s role in … Skyline Maker: The Architecture of David S. Castle

We have captured the rapid changing world through the lens of a camera since the mid-nineteenth century. From early daguerreotypes to digital smartphones, photography has advanced just as quickly as the society that utilizes these cameras to capture history’s most significant events to everyday life.  This exhibition includes various cameras, tools, and instruments to illustrate the evolution of cameras and … History of Cameras Before the iPhone

International Holocaust Remembrance Day takes place each year on January 27th, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. This exhibition highlights the history of the Holocaust, displacement and mass murder of Jewish people, the role Texans played as liberators, and the history of Abilene’s Jewish community.

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 that are integral to Abilene’s history while weaving these stores into the broader historical fabric of the United States. Hispanic … Hispanic Heritage Month – Cultural Heritage Exhibition 2022

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 that are integral to Abilene’s history while weaving these stores into the broader historical fabric of the United States. November … Native American Heritage Month – Cultural Heritage Exhibition 2022

Capturing a likeness goes back to the earliest of times, however, with the invention of cameras in the 1800s, portraits became more popular and easily attainable. Cartes-de-visite and Cabinet Cards were albumen prints mounted on small cards, typically portraits of the subject. The Cartes-de-visite, invented in France, were smaller cards made between the 1860s and 1870s. A larger portrait, called … Early Photographic Portraits from the Permanent Collection

From the founding of the city through the 1950s, Downtown Abilene was a bustling focal point of the city. However, with the decline of the railroad and growth toward the south, like many cities in the United States, the downtown area saw a decline in business and activity overall despite the municipal presence. By the 1980s, several vacant buildings sat … Downtown Revitalization Beginnings: Part II

The Grace Museum proudly presents “Citizens at Last: The Woman Suffrage Movement in Texas,” an exhibition produced by Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. “Citizens at Last” is made possible in part by a We the People grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 ended … Citizens at Last: The Woman Suffrage Movement in Texas

From the Gibson Girl to the Flapper, women’s fashion evolution from the early 1900s to the 1920s in the United States was due to new economic and social factors for women. These three decades were a defining time as many women fought for the right to vote, joined the work force during World War I, and changed the traditional social … Women’s Fashion Evolution: 1900s – 1920s, from the Permanent Collection

The story of women’s suffrage is a story of voting rights, of inclusion in and exclusion from the franchise, and of our civic development as a nation. Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence, a poster exhibition from the Smithsonian, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment and explores the complexity of the women’s suffrage movement and the relevance … Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence

The Hispanic Heritage Display Committee presents Entretenimientos: Música, Baile y Radio. This exhibition was created by Abilene’s Hispanic Heritage Display Committee, a group committed to archiving, preserving, and displaying the histories of Hispanics in Abilene for the community and its future generations. This exhibition highlights just a small portion of the rich history of music, dance, and entertainment in Abilene’s … Abilene’s Hispanic Heritage Display Committee presents: Entretenimientos: Música, Baile y Radio