The Old Red Museum is a treat to visit and is a fine addition to your Dallas Texas trip planner. The Old Red Museum is located in downtown Dallas Texas. The museum is located in a very historic and renovated building that was built in 1892. It’s remarkable that this 19th century structure served as the Dallas County Courthouse until 1966.
Today, The Old Red Museum is an excellent venue to learn how this city grew from one man’s 1841 settlement to a major metropolitan area of the twenty-first century. The museum is filled with artifacts, stories and photos about early Dallas and all the way to the present.
The Old Red Museum
The building was constructed of red sandstone in a Richardsonian Romanesque style of architecture. The building was known locally as the Old Red Courthouse located at the southwest corner of Commerce and Houston Streets. This 19th century building is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Old Red Museum is on the first floor of the Old Red Courthouse and exhibits the evolution of Dallas. Four permanent exhibits detail the history of Dallas Texas. These four galleries feature 41 interactive touch-screen kiosks making this venue one of the most interactive ones you’ll ever have the opportunity to visit.
The Children’s Education Center within the museum offers a hands on and interactive experience for kids. Kids can create their own stained glass window and they can , uncover historical features using architecture rubbings. This allows them to find out architectural details that make Dallas buildings very unique. The museum also rotates a series of special exhibits that celebrate unique aspects of Dallas art and history.
This 1892 old Red Courthouse features some of Dallas and Dallas County’s most fascinating historical artifacts. The Old Red Museum also hosts special events. For more information about exhibits and what’s happening at the museum see their Facebook Page at the link below…
Dallas Founded During The Days of the Republic of Texas
Dallas Texas was founded in 1841, about five years after the Republic of Texas was founded.
John Neely Bryan from Arkansas built a log cabin in 1841 near a river and called the settlement Dallas. The river is what today is the Trinity floodplain and had existing trails made by the Native American Caddo tribe. The site on the Trinity River where Bryan established his outpost was known as the White Rock Crossing. The crossing was considered easy for wagons before ferry service and bridges were erected.
Bryan’s log cabin would become a trading post. Like some other early settlement, one person might serve several functions. John Bryan served in three capacities. Bryan served as Dallas’ first postmaster, a general store owner and a ferry boat operator. Three years after the founding of this settlement a plan was laid out establishing city blocks that would one day become modern downtown Dallas Texas. Again, this all occurred at the time of the Republic of Texas which would shortly be annexed by the United States in 1845 at the time of the Mexican-American War. Dallas would be incorporated six years later in 1851.
See the Trips Into History articles on the links below…
A Visit to Historic Fredericksburg Texas
Touring The Texas Hill Country
How Dallas Got it’s Name
The story of how Dallas was named Dallas has a few versions.
One version has it named from a naming contest in 1842. A second version says that it may have been named after an 1842 settler named Joseph Dallas. Another is that it was named after a friend of John Neely Bryan. A fourth version has the settlement named after a naval Commodore and yet another version says that it was named after a U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. It has never been concluded exactly which is the official or real version however any of the above versions is possible.
Visiting The Old Red Museum
The Old Red Museum is located in the heart of downtown Dallas Texas. It is available for both individual and group tours and is currently open 9A-5P daily.
Because The Old Red Museum is located in the heart of Dallas, there’s several other interesting sites to see nearby. The museum is adjacent to the JFK Memorial and Dealey Plaza, a National Historic Landmark District. It is also across the street from a replica of Dallas founder John Neely Bryan’s cabin and just a block south of The Sixth Floor Museum and the historic West End of Dallas. All of these sites are in easy walking distance to the others and offer excellent photo opportunities.
(Article and photos copyright 2014 Trips Into History)