John Taylor/Contributing Writer
It has been a very busy summer for the Jefferson Historical Museum and it looks to be even busier in the fall.
First, Angela Davis and her team from Musework, our exhibit renovation design firm, were in Jefferson for three days last month. They worked practically non-stop selecting artifacts, photographs and other historical items to be used for our new first floor attraction.
They measured, photographed and recorded items they are proposing to be used in the renovation. The firm continues to be impressed with the quality and depth of the museum’s collection and look forward to presenting the final design that will tell the narrative of how and why Jefferson was founded, prospered, declined and was re-born as a tourist destination city. We look forward to the next several months of hearing their plans for us.
On September 14, we will hold our quarterly lecture a month early for reasons explained below. This quarter’s lecturer will be Joanne Stacey, a member of the Jefferson Historical Museum’s Board of Directors. Her program will be Sugar Land 95—the Connection to Jefferson. She will tell the story of a construction project in Sugar Land, Texas, in February, 2018, that unearthed the unmarked graves of 95 convicts forced to work in the sugar cane fields surrounding Sugar Land.
Further details of this remarkable history can be found on our web site www.jeffersonmuseum.org.
The program is free and a wine and cheese reception will begin at 6pm, followed by the program at 6:30. Please join us.
The reason for the early quarterly lecture is the presentation of Sitting Up with the Dead—Revisited, Victorian Mourning and Funeral Customs. If you were able to attend last year’s presentation, you know what a wonderful performance this was and this year’s program will feature all new material and revelations. The program dates and times are October 19th at 7PM, October 20th at 5PM and 7:30PM, and October 21st at 5PM and 7:30PM. Tickets are $25 per person, non-refundable, and are on sale now. Last year’s performances were sold out and tickets for this year’s are going fast. If you missed the first one, you’ll be glad you got to attend this year. Contact the museum for tickets at 903.665.2775.
Our Thirteenth Annual Civil War Symposium was held August 5 at the Transportation Center with the Speakers’ Reception on August 4 in the Second Floor Gallery of the Museum. Both events were very successful with a combined attendance of over 150 people. Most attending were from out of town and gave the event, the museum and our city wonderful compliments and reviews. The four speakers were published authors and history lecturers from the University of North Texas, University of Texas at Tyler, and LSU-Shreveport. This event is a major fund raiser for the museum and also benefited the city with lodging and shopping revenues.
And, finally, it is almost time for our membership drive. We will send out announcement letters in a couple of months. Memberships are open to all and help support the many activities the museum undertakes. If you are already a member, please join us again in what continues to be an exciting time for membership. If you are not a member, we think this is a great opportunity to become one. Please call the museum for membership information.