A History of Crosby County 1876-1977 Page: 47
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RALLS
HISTORICAL
MUSEUMThe Rails Historical Museum
became a reality in 1969 when the
John R. Rails Bank Building was given
to the city to house historical artifacts
of Crosby County. The donors of this
landmark building were Pauline Rails
Watkins and Alma Rails Hendricks,
nieces of John R. Rails.
That fall a governing board was
elected, consisting of John and
Hazelle Thomas, Ruth W. Adams, Mil-
dred Campbell, Walker and Pauline
Watkins, Clayton Cunningham, VeNoy
Sanders, J. Edd McLaughlin, Lloyd A.
Wicks, Jr., Edgar Chance and Dorothy
Phillips. A charter was drawn up and
approved by the State of Texas and
bylaws and collection policy were for-
mulated.
Community volunteers renovated
the 60-year-old building. Every organi-
zation in Rails participated in restoring
the 20 rooms and collecting momen-
tos which depict the history of Crosby
County from the time of the Indians to
the present day.On March 6,1970, the museum was
dedicated by Governor Preston Smith,
whose wife, Ima, a Crosby County pio-
neer, was honored with "A Date to
Remember" banquet following the
dedication.
Family heirlooms continued to be
brought into the museum Imore
than 6,000 items had been cataloged
by 1977. The 16 upstairs rooms with a
center hall running the length of the
building, depict a pioneer village with a
home, store, chapel, school, barber-
shop and doctor's office. Other rooms
contain farm tools, ranch equipment,
pioneer musical instruments, and war
mementos from the Civil War through
the Vietnam War.
The street-floor rooms highlight pio-
neer families with many items from
their homes displayed in antique
cases. One large room is furnished as
a period parlor and is used for commu-
nity meetings. A multiplex illustrates in
picture and legend area history from1875 to 1975. Earlier Indian culture is
shown in nearby cases where artifacts
from U.S. Army and Texas Ranger
sites are also displayed.
The museum is maintained through
donations and memorials. It was run
by volunteer staff members until 1973
when two pioneer ladies, Eunice
Tomme and Ruth Bartley, were
employed through the Green Thumb,
a government program for the semi-
retired. Five men working under the
Green Thumb have helped'with repairs
at various times.
The museum is open daily except
Saturday. More than 5,000 visitors
registered in 1976, many from other
states and foreign countries. Museum
board members added recently are
Eddie and Nancille Verett, Nancy Cun-
ningham, M. L. and LaHonda Sanders,
Uel and Dorothy Arthur, Wayne and
Alice Parker, Craig and Ann
McDonald, and James and Lila Left-
wich.47
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Crosby County Pioneer Museum. A History of Crosby County 1876-1977, book, 1978; Crosby County, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth91041/m1/51/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .