NOTE: This history, whose author is unknown, apparently because he/she was too modest to append his/her name to it, was written during the mid-1990s.
You might say that Charles Binning started the whole thing, when, in 1985, he gave the Pastime Club articles of clothing belonging to his mother-in-law, Katherine Smith. The clothing, dating back to the early 1900s, was in excellent condition. The Club members felt it would be nice if there was a place to exhibit these items and other articles pertaining to the history of the area. In April of that year, three Pastime Club members signed Articles of Incorporation for the Texas Trail Museum; several other Club members and a few other interested people agreed to serve on the Board of Directors.
The mission of the Texas Trail Museum of Laramie County (as it was then called) expressed in its first mission statement, was to be carried out through preservation, restoration, and display, of historic buildings and artifacts typically used by those individuals utilizing the various frontier crossroads found near Pine Bluffs, Wyoming.
In June 1985, Pastime Club member, Alice Benedict, went before the Pine Bluffs Town Council and asked if it would consider donating or leasing the Towns’ old power plant, last operational in the 1950s. Approximately 70 years of age at the time, the building contained two diesel engines and generators, each 12 feet long and 10 feet high. They would become the focal point of the fledgling museum’s main building, and their history is displayed. The Council requested assurance that the building was appropriate for use as a museum, so the Wyoming State Museum and Historical Department was contacted and asked if it could assess the building’s suitability. In May, Herbert Dawson, a historical architect, inspected the building. On June 6, 1986, he sent a letter stating that the building would be suitable except for needed repairs and maintenance, and that a great amount of renovation would be necessary.
Once this report was received, the town Council agreed to lease the power plant to the Museum Board for $1 for a term of 99 years, and that lease was signed in September 1986 at a public function. From that point forward, the Board began meeting quite often, to draft by-laws, prepare an acquisition policy, adopt donor forms, and perform all the other necessary foundational work to get the Museum off to a good, organized start. Efforts were begun to secure funding for the needed renovation and repairs. Grant applications were prepared by Board members and submitted to the Union Pacific Foundation, U.S. West, Mountain Bell, and the Town of Pine Bluffs, who all honored the requests. Some renovation work was begun immediately.
Exterior repairs, which included filling in cracks, repairing mortar, re-glazing, repairing, and painting windows, were quickly accomplished. Replacing the roof and sealing some exterior walls, took a bit longer. Additionally, a sidewalk, ramp, and double door for handicap accessibility, were installed. Interior work was also begun, which included clearing the building of all remaining maintenance supplies owned by the town, re-wiring, sheet-rocking, and painting. The Mountain Bell grant in the amount of $1000 awarded in 1986 paid for installation of a new cement floor. The Union Pacific Foundation grant in the amount of $4000 paid for complete re-wiring, installation of interior walls, and a drop ceiling.
At the end of May 1988, with a loan of three exhibits from the Wyoming State Museum, the Texas Trail Museum opened its doors to the public for the summer, utilizing volunteers as hostesses.
When the Museum closed for the winter, the next phase of renovation work began. This included hanging a suspended ceiling, leveling the concrete floor, carpeting, and installation of a security system.
Also at that time, exhibit cases and many artifacts for display were acquired through a $500 dollar grant from the U.S. West Foundation. By the spring of 1989, the exhibits were in place and the Museum opened for its second summer in May. That year, High school students were used as hostesses. During the fall of 1989, the Union Pacific Railroad donated a caboose to the Town of Pine Bluffs, and it was placed within the complex, on the north side across the alleyway from the Brodine-Walker Boarding House. The outside of the Caboose had been painted with funds provided by a grant from the Wyoming Centennial Commission. The Union Pacific Railroad provided decals. Plans formulated at the time called for renovating the interior so that it might be opened with railroad memorabilia on display for visitors to see. In the interim, the Town of Pine Bluffs acquired the Brodine-Walker property or the Boarding House, as it is commonly known. That property was the last parcel of land within the triangle block on which the Museum is located; land bordered by Market Street, Second Street, and Highway 30. The Brodine-Walker Boarding House was the only property within the triangle block not already owned by the Town. The Museum‘s Board was asked if it wanted to renovate the building on that site or if it preferred to have it torn down. It was agreed that the building was in good enough condition to be renovated and restored to its original look when the Union Pacific Railroad used it as a section hand boarding house.
In the early spring of 1990, the walls and floors of the engine room were painted, and exhibits set up. Also, in the early summer, the second phase of renovation of the Boarding House was done, which almost completed the main floor renovation. This included removing a front porch across the front of the building, which had been enclosed in the 1950s, tearing out most of the interior walls which had been added in the same era, and restoring the one wall which had been in place originally separating the dining/parlor areas from the kitchen, and painting and wallpapering both areas. In 1991, that main floor area was furnished much like it was when the boarding house was built, and was then opened for public viewing. During 1991, plans were also made to restore the sleeping area upstairs, and to furnish those seven rooms appropriately. The second floor sleeping area is entered through an outside staircase which has been rebuilt. Located next to this property is a modern style garage which had once been the Town’s shop, but which was currently being used by the Museum for storage.
Early in the summer of 1990, the first one-room school house in eastern Laramie County, the Muddy Creek School House, built in 1870 on the Dolan Ranch, was moved to the Museum complex and placed on a concrete foundation. Plans were approved to renovate it during the spring of 1991, and the school was opened to the public in the summer of 1991, for people to see a school of the late 1800s.
The Wyoming Council for the Humanities provided a grant which was used to fund an all-day program entitled “Frontier Crossroads Legacy Day: Sights and Sounds along the Trail.” Although the Museum had been open to the public for several summers, a Grand Opening and dedication of the Union Pacific caboose was held in August 1990. Many dignitaries, out-of-town visitors, and Pine Bluffs citizens attended. Governor Mike Sullivan and other historical speakers provided the entertainment. Also in 1990, a grant from the Wyoming Tourism Board, assisted with the cost of designing and printing a Museum brochure.
In July 1991, the Town of Pine Bluffs provided the former Boy Scout Meeting Hall to the Museum for use as office space, acquisition, registration, and collection storage. This building is located across the street from the Museum complex.
In October 1991, the former St. Mary’s Catholic Church, a decommissioned church which had once served the Catholic population in and around the Town of Burns, was moved from its then location, 17 miles west of that Town. This building had been used for grain storage for many years, and required extensive repair and restoration. However, the only repairs done at that time included covering the open windows, etc.
During September 1992, the Museum hosted an Artifact Conservator and Architect Conservator with funding from the Institute of Museum Services. They completed a Conservation Assessment Program, and the Museum’s Board began using that plan to address the needs identified therein.
Throughout the Texas Trail Museum’s history, the Town of Pine Bluffs has been very supportive. The Museum complex is owned by the Town. Additionally, they own the buildings located within that block with the exception of the Union Pacific caboose, the Schoolhouse, the Railroad Telephone Shack, and the Church. Through fiscal year 1993-1994, the Museum will have received from the Town a total of $28,000 over a period of eight years, not to mention numerous services provided by Town employees.
As of 1993, the Museum had been offered a Log Cabin, a Tar Paper Shack, and a Blacksmith’s Shop. None has been accepted yet, since the cost of moving them is high, and substantial restoration will be required for each building.
Although many artifacts have been donated, additional items were needed to complete many displays. A Collection Committee began working to identify needs and the Acquisition Committee started working to acquire these needed artifacts.
Shortly thereafter, the Museum adopted a detailed acquisition policy which emphasizes the permanent, unrestricted donation of all artifacts.
It is anticipated that the Museum’s History will be updated from time to time in the future.