At "The North Star of Texas", Paris' Lamar County Historical Museum Shines

Kudos to the folks in Paris, Texas that have done an excellent job in developing and keeping the local Lamar County Heritage Museum interesting and pertinent.  The county has a long and rich history in producing champions in sports, banking, education, arts, military, government, business, agriculture, and industry.  At the museum they have pulled together a unique collection spotlighting the passages of time from local pioneer’s log cabin to a local football hero guiding the Alabama Crimson Tide to the National Championship.   

  

The museum is tucked away in the corner of a century old structure that used to be part of a bustling railroad center.  It sits across the parking lot from the restored 19^th century Union Railroad Station on 1015 West Kaufman Street that ends at the station’s front door.

Paris was never huge, always less than 30,000 population, but it was the hub of rail transportation of the four directions of the compass.  The museum draws attention to major industries long gone that dispersed their products around the country taking advantage of the rails.  During the four year period of World War II, the trains handled nearly 1,000,000 passengers including soldiers and their families stationed at Camp Maxey north of Paris.  This WWII camp was the training center for two major divisions of 40,000 soldiers: the 102d Infantry Division and the 99^th Infantry Division. 

Paris has had a history of obvious events such as a disastrous fire in March 1916 that destroyed thousands structures including much of the downtown area.  The museum has a room with opposing panoramic views of the city before and after the fire that accentuate the extent of the destruction.  Due to the rebuilding, the downtown area of Paris has one of the most extensive groupings of early twentieth century architecture of retail and business buildings.  It includes a plaza that is anchored by a large Italian fountain donated to the city by the prominent Culbertson family.  The popularity of this fountain is established annually when high school prom dates gather to use it as a backdrop for their pictures.

Lamar County has long had an African American population that was brought originally as slaves to develop the area’s plantations and farms.  A room is dedicated to remembering their accomplishments as they have continually added to the county’s history from defending our country to reaching the heights of academic and sports achievements.     

From the moment you walk through the front door you are surrounded by character that made the city and county.  You are greeted with the Staples Jewelry Store sign that hung in front of their downtown building for decades until the store closed in the 1990s.  The Staples family sold jewelry and gifts to generations of young newlyweds and probably thousands of silver award plates given by various organizations for community service.  My family heritage through five generations still enjoy gifts bought here.

For those of us that grew up here in the 1960s, you can’t help but smile when you turn a corner and there in front of you is a lighted order kiosk from the original Paris Sonic Drive-In!  How about a #2 bacon burger?

The museum is operated by the Lamar County Historical Society and the members have donated their talents and time to build unique displays that would make the Smithsonian proud.  From custom framing for military uniforms to the refurbished entry way of a beautiful 19^th Century Greek revival home, it’s easy to spot the personal investment made to preserve the collection fading memories.

The museum is small enough to get through within an hour or large enough to spend several hours if you linger to absorb what it has to offer.  It’s free, but donations will gladly be accepted.

Address and Contact information

1015 W Kaufman St
Paris Texas 75460

Hours:

Friday and Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Phone: (903) 783-0064