From The Director

2005 was a great year for the museum. We added four new exhibits to tell the history of our county. The artifacts arrived from TXU for the Indian village and we designed an educational new Native American exhibit. William Ashby wanted a country store and we found the old Hardaway store. Our store was created from the old store's interior, our staff's memories and photos from our collection. We are still working to accumulate all the parts to have our oil well in production, but the main parts have been restored, thanks to Bryan Bateman. We are very greatful for all the community help that we have received and continue to receive on this large, complex machinery. We used the barn during the Syrup Festival and it is a great space. We will soon be seeking farm equipment to go in it.

Attendance was 17,173 total for the year. We had 33 school districts bring students and we gave 99 guided tours. Over 1828 volunteer hours were given this year.

The staff has spent much of these first months of the year working on storage. We also researched and cataloged over 3,000 artifacts. We moved the textiles into a climate controlled store room in the main building. After refolding all of our quilts and coverlets, we were shocked at how large our collection has become. We could have our own quilt show and are thinking about it. We are creating a climate controlled storage room in the old office in the Depot and will move our storage items into it.

The cotton gin project is on again. This is the largest project undertaken by the Historical Commission and will require moving a large building and some very heavy equipment. The move is reminiscent of the move and restoration of the Depot in 1978 by the Depot Renovation and Restoration Committee. The gin is in Mt. Enterprise. The machinery is in excellent shape and is a true treasure just waiting to be restored. The museum looks forward to having the only gin open for tours in North Texas. The only other gin of comparable age is the Burton gin near Brenham.

The Rusk County Historical Foundation has been given the old auditorium on Ragley Street by the City of Henderson. The Foundation plans to restore the historic structure and use it for meeting rooms. They are looking for photographs of the interior. We have been told that High School graduations were held in the building during the late 1930's. If anyone has a photo that can help, please call 903-657-2261.

Heritage Folkart Day was April 26 and it was a great success. Teachers and children left with new knowledge and happy faces.

Memorial:
The Museum has lost three wonderful volunteers this year. Artie Partin went to her Maker in her 93rd year on Dec. 16, 2005. She had been a volunteer for 26 years. Artie helped develop the Quilt Show and demonstrated quilting at the show and Syrup Festival.
Alton Jones passed away Aug. 3, 2005. He was an organizer of the East Texas Antique Tractor and Engine Association. Alton coordinated the Tractor Show at the Syrup Festival for ten years. Along with the Tractor Assn., he restored and installed the saw mill equipment.
Carl Messec helped restore the Walling Log Cabin in the 1980's. He and his wife, Marie, continued to volunteer at the Syrup Festival and Folkart Day. He passed away on March 7, 2005.

Thanks to H.B. Armstrong, Mark Howard, Patricia Armstrong, Tom Laney and Buzz Fullen for donating artifacts to the Museum's collection.

Thanks to all of the volunteers at the Syrup Festival, F.O.L.K.S., Heritage Folkart Day and all of our other activities.