Who: Sarah Johnson.
When: Summer 2016 – Fall 2016.
Where: Salado, TX.
Salado, Texas. A quaint little town with a bold personality off of Interstate Thirty-five, just between Waco and Austin. My two classmates and I have been taking turns making the drive to Salado to work as interns for the Central Texas Area Museum, soon to be known as Salado Museum and College Park. Alum of our Museum Studies graduate program, Coleman Hampton, was hired as the interim curator of the museum and it has truly been a fortunate experience to work with him and discover what the little historical museum holds under its roof. When Coleman was hired, the museum had been unchanged for a few decades. The type-written letters on the exhibit labels were faded and the collection space was unorganized underneath a layer of dust. Even though the space seemed a bit lackluster, Coleman and the community of Salado have been a force pushing the museum forward.
On our first day of work we arrived in our Nike shorts and tennis shoes – it was time to clean up the space. Bags of century-old clothes were sorted through and mannequins stared at us from every nook and cranny of the museum (exhibiting clothes has changed drastically over the years). Whilst cleaning up and looking through the collection, some very special gems were unearthed. A dollar coin from the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair and a WWII uniform coat, to name a few. Since our first day as interns for Coleman, we have completed cleaning, started housing collection items, moved some collection records to a digital spreadsheet, built a website, and learned by doing. Our most recent project is to write content for a large timeline and map that will hang on the walls of the refreshed exhibit space. The timeline and map will highlight important events in Salado’s history and map out influential places such as the city’s Stagecoach Inn, the oldest, continuously operating hotel in Texas.
Along with these tasks, we have also gotten to know the community of the Village of Salado and its history. Most weekends we work, there are citizens of Salado helping out at the museum. Community members have helped to work in a garage sale, donated their time to help raise funds for the museum, and have shown full support at the recent lecture that took place in the museum’s event space. We have also been invited into their stores and have shared stories at the local brewery. The Village of Salado is home to a rich history and locals who are excited to share it.
Working at a museum and seeing progress grow from ground up has been a wonderful opportunity and a great learning experience. It is especially exciting that citizens of Salado value their history so greatly and are excited about the progress of the museum. I look forward to what the future holds for the Salado Museum and College Park.
Written by: Sarah Johnson
2 comments for “It Takes a Village: Resurrecting a Local History Museum”