The Helen Marie Taylor Museum of Waco History is preparing to enter a new phase of its history by welcoming the public to history inside its building with a free open house Saturday.
It will provide the first look inside in nearly 30 years for many Waco residents, as for most of that time the museum has been open for tours and visitors by request only.
Waco native and passionate Helen Marie Taylor founded the museum, located in the former Barron Springs Elementary School, in the late 1980s with the intention of preserving and showcasing Waco’s history. It opened to the public in 1993, but closed five years later.
Taylor died earlier this year, but funded a trust that will continue the museum’s operation for years to come. Virginia Investments Officer Brandon Taylor, who oversees the trust and served as the museum’s treasurer, is in Waco this week to meet with friends and supporters of Helen Marie Taylor to share a vision for the future of the museum
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That future may include general repairs and expansion, as well as expanding its Waco history to include the 1953 Waco tornado, the stories of Waco’s African-American and Hispanic communities and more, he said.
Attendees of Saturday’s open house will see the museum’s main exhibits: a Crossroads exhibit about the area’s Native American past and McLennan County’s early settlers, including part of a log cabin built by a cousin of first settler Neil McLennan; a display of elaborate costumes worn by the Courts of the Cotton Palace Pageant, a celebration of the area’s early 20th century cotton culture that drew thousands of visitors to Waco each year; an exhibit on the 1993 Branch Davidian compound siege and fire; and various artifacts of Waco history.
Costumes from the 20th century history of Waco’s Cotton Palace Pageants are on display at the Taylor Museum.
Rod Aydelotte, Tribune-Herald
The Taylor Museum’s “We the People” exhibit contains items such as the bed in which President Zachary Taylor died.
Rod Aydelotte, Tribune-Herald
The museum is also home to “We the People,” a national traveling exhibit created for the bicentennial of the 1976 U.S. Constitution, which includes items such as an embroidered waistcoat worn by George Washington and the bed in which President Zachary Taylor died .
Museum office manager Destiny Hallman said Saturday’s open house will bring activity to the museum grounds. Among those planned are inflatable bounce houses, other inflatables, an obstacle course for toddlers, a rock climbing wall, putt-putt golf, basketball and soccer hoops, a team appearance Baylor University men’s basketball, ax throwing, face painting, a mechanic. bull, a long steer for photos and a petting zoo.
There will also be shooting demonstrations by Texas Rangers reenactors and cowboy riding demonstrations by Andy Andersen at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
“We’ve really done a little bit of everything,” Hallman said.
The Helen Marie Taylor Museum of Waco History operated regularly in the 1990s, but has since been closed to the public except for private tours.
Rod Aydelotte, Tribune-Herald
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