Texas Standard listener and volunteer curator Vicky Rose shares information about the McDade Historical Society Museum in McDade for the Standard’s Texas Museum Map series:
The McDade Historical Society Museum is housed in an old stagecoach stop/saloon built in 1874. It’s known for the many colorful old west figures who entered there: Print Olive, Sam Bass, John Wesley Hardin, Wild Bill Longley and Johnny Ringo.
It was also the site of the infamous Christmas Eve Hangings of 1883. The next day, there was a shootout on Main Street in front of the museum.
It now houses a large collection of locally made pottery, some of it shipped out by the thousands in the days before electricity. There is also furniture from one of the older hotels and many other artifacts donated from McDade citizens.
Admission is free. The museum is open every first and second Saturday 1-4 p.m. But Rose says if you find yourself in McDade another time, you can give them a call at 512-273-5151 and someone will be happy to open the museum for you.
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