Frontier Texas

I've always been a history buff and a fan of museums. I like to visit places that have to do with all kinds of history. One museum in particular really stands out for me though and that in Frontier Texas in Abilene.

The reason I'm such a fan of this one is because it tells about the history in my backyard. Sometimes it is hard to relate to a subject if you've never spent any time in that area. Frontier Texas basically covers east of Brownwood to San Angelo, up through Abilene and all the way up to Ft. Richardson in Jacksboro. In the mid to late 1800's that was the end of civilization, if you went west of San Angelo or Abilene you were pretty much on your own. You might as well leave your scalps at the door.

You could almost draw a line on a map from Del Rio to Wichita Falls. Some of the main ones were Ft. Duncan, Ft. Clark, Ft. McKavett, Ft. Concho, Ft. Chadbourne, Ft. Phantom Hill, Ft. Griffin and Ft. Richardson. The farther east you went from here, the better off you were. But with us being Americans and that whole Manifest Destiny thing we just had to keep pushing west and that caused lots of heartache but it did establish the land we have today.

The Frontier Texas museum guides you through this area of Texas during that time and it introduces you to real people who lived and helped settle this area. The actor Buck Taylor is the virtual guide through the museum and it focuses on people like Cynthia Ann Parker who was captured and raised by Indians and Britt Johnson who was a former slave who was a muleskinner in the area who had to rescue his family from Comanches.

If you haven't been you should really go. Take you kids, they will love it. They will also learn that there was some pretty cool stuff happening before Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers ever came along! It is high tech and very interactive. It has virtual tours, holograms and all kinds of special effects and of course it has plenty of authentic artifacts from that time. Spend the money, spend an afternoon in Abilene and you will not be disappointed.

God and Texas,

Jason Watson