Permanent exhibits

(just a few examples of what you can see at the Museum of the Big Bend)

Entrance scene

Including the full wingbone and a 3/4 size replica of the Quezalcoatlus northropi, the largest specimen of a Pterasaur ever found on planet Earth. It was discovered in Big Bend National Park in 1972.

Tallrock Shelter

A full-size replica of one of the most unique pieces of Native American art on the continent. The original paintings are located in the Davis Mountains and have been the focus of numerous field trips by archeologists and Sul Ross students from the Center for Big Bend Studies.

Spanish carreta

In 1590, Governor Sosa traveled northward and crossed the Rio Grande near present-day Big Bend National Park. This was the first time that wheeled vehicles ever entered what is now the United States, since Sosa and his party of around 170 people transported their goods in these ox-drawn carts. This replica "carreta" was hand-made the same way the Spanish made them more than 400 years ago.

Window Trail, Big Bend National Park

Walk a shorter and flatter replica of the Window Trail, in the air-conditioned comfort of the Museum!

Chuckwagon

See what kind of food and equipment was carried in the chuckwagon, in order to feed the cowboys and the vaqueros in the Big Bend.

Buffalo Soldier at Fort Davis, Stagecoach

Learn about the Buffalo Soldiers stationed at Fort Davis, Texas. The stagecoach was the kind of vehicle the soldiers provided escort duties for, and this particular stagecoach was used out here in the Big Bend, on both sides of the border, for more than 40 years.

Sul Ross

Discover more about the university, named for Texas Ranger, Governor, and General Lawrence Sullivan Ross. See the famous mural painted by Sul Ross graduate Enrique Espinoza in 1940 and the hat worn by Sul Ross graduate Dan Blocker, who went on to star as Hoss Cartwright in the TV show Bonanza.

General Store

Usually every town in the Big Bend had a general store. It if couldn't be bought there, you didn't need it or you had to make it yourself. This is also where one would also find the local Post Office.

Southern Pacific Lines Railcar

The laying of the tracks and the coming of the railroad to the Big Bend led to the founding of many towns in this part of Texas, including those of Marathon, Alpine, and Marfa. Steam engines needed water every 25-30 miles, hence the location of these towns.

Current rotating exhibit:

A NATION AT WAR: 1910-1945

War is God's Way of Teaching Americans Geography

Exhibit runs June 6 through September 1, 2009.

Exhibit features maps, interpretive panels, posters, uniforms, artifacts, and even music from 1910-1945.

The exhibit pays a special tribute to those people from the Big Bend region of Texas who served or where affected by these wars.

The exhibit was curated by the museum staff and by graduate student KRISTEN (Batson) TYSON, as part of her thesis requirements towards earning a Master's Degree in History here at Sul Ross.