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June 13, 2025
Smithsonian exhibit opens June 21
Contributed
Now is your chance to visit a part of the Smithsonian Institution here in the Texas Hill Country. Bandera was selected as one of only seven towns in Texas to host a Museum on Main Street exhibit, a program of the Smithsonian Institution that brings traveling exhibits to rural communities across the country.
The exhibit, Crossroads: Change in Rural America, will arrive in Bandera on June 21 and will be on display at the Bandera Middle School cafetorium through July 26. Interactive displays explore how rural communities have evolved through the 20th century as local industries have declined, as residents moved away to find better economic opportunities, and other changes that have transformed rural life in America.
As part of the exhibit, the Smithsonian requested each local venue to create their own exhibits focusing on their local stories and history. The Bandera County Visitor and Convention Bureau, the Bandera County Historical Commission and the Frontier Times Museum have partnered to bring the exhibit to town, as well as create a series of programs and exhibits that tell the story of Bandera from a ranching town to a tourist mecca known as the Cowboy Capital of the World.
Displayed alongside the Smithsonian exhibit, local exhibits explore the history of Bandera County and includes Living off the Land: From Ranches to Travelers and Schoolhouse Memories: From the One Room Schoolhouse to Today, by the Frontier Times Museum, and Rural Electrification by the Bandera Electric Cooperative. Texas Tejano, an organization that creates awareness and education about the contributions of early Texas Tejano pioneers, have contributed their traveling exhibit, Tejano Son of Texas: The Life of Policarpio Rodriguez, an early settler to the Bandera area who established the settlement Polly.
Looking toward the 20th century, Bandera’s roots as a tourist town is also explored. In Stompede Days and the Free State of Bandera and Bandera’s Music History: The Music Goes on Forever, by the Bandera CVB. Guests can step into a saloon and learn about an early festival that was shut down due to the attendees taking the slogan, “Free State of Bandera,” a little too literally. A digital jukebox will play more than 100 songs made by local musicians, both well-known and unsung. 100 Years of Rodeo in Bandera, by members of the Bandera ProRodeo, and Dudes, Dances & Delights: Bandera Birthplace of the Texas Dude Ranch, by the Frontier Times Museum, will explore why tourists flock to experience the cowboy way of life. In telling the story of the history of the dude ranches, Diane Conoly and Kim Schott of the Dixie Dude Ranch has digitized the complete library of an early trade magazine, the Dude Wrangler, that publicized local events and dude ranch happenings from the 1940s to the 1960s. Guests will be able to peruse the digital issues celebrating the golden age of the dude ranch.
Around the community and the county, exhibits and programs will be held at the Arnold-Tyron Cemetery, Bandera Kronkosky Library, Bandera Natural History and Art Museum, Frontier Times Museum, Lakehills Area Library, Medina Community Library, Pipe Creek Community Center, Pipe Creek General Store, River Oaks Courts, the historic Langford House, and the Sheepwalk Ranch.
As you walk along Main Street look for the “If These Walls Could Talk” participation signs. These businesses will have on display their own unique history.
A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at the Bandera Middle School on June 21, at 9:30 a.m., opening the exhibit to the public before ceremonies begin at 10:30 a.m.
The hours for the Smithsonian exhibit are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The Smithsonian exhibit and local exhibits at the Bandera Middle School are free. The Bandera Middle School is located at 1005 Cherry Street just one block off of Main Street.
For more details on the complete roster of exhibits and programs, please visit www.banderacowboycapital.com – Smithsonian tab or www.frontiertimesmuseum.org – Events page. Visitors to the exhibit will also be given a map and calendar of events of all that is happening in Bandera this summer to celebrate being a part of the Smithsonian.
The exhibit, Crossroads: Change in Rural America, will arrive in Bandera on June 21 and will be on display at the Bandera Middle School cafetorium through July 26. Interactive displays explore how rural communities have evolved through the 20th century as local industries have declined, as residents moved away to find better economic opportunities, and other changes that have transformed rural life in America.
As part of the exhibit, the Smithsonian requested each local venue to create their own exhibits focusing on their local stories and history. The Bandera County Visitor and Convention Bureau, the Bandera County Historical Commission and the Frontier Times Museum have partnered to bring the exhibit to town, as well as create a series of programs and exhibits that tell the story of Bandera from a ranching town to a tourist mecca known as the Cowboy Capital of the World.
Displayed alongside the Smithsonian exhibit, local exhibits explore the history of Bandera County and includes Living off the Land: From Ranches to Travelers and Schoolhouse Memories: From the One Room Schoolhouse to Today, by the Frontier Times Museum, and Rural Electrification by the Bandera Electric Cooperative. Texas Tejano, an organization that creates awareness and education about the contributions of early Texas Tejano pioneers, have contributed their traveling exhibit, Tejano Son of Texas: The Life of Policarpio Rodriguez, an early settler to the Bandera area who established the settlement Polly.
Looking toward the 20th century, Bandera’s roots as a tourist town is also explored. In Stompede Days and the Free State of Bandera and Bandera’s Music History: The Music Goes on Forever, by the Bandera CVB. Guests can step into a saloon and learn about an early festival that was shut down due to the attendees taking the slogan, “Free State of Bandera,” a little too literally. A digital jukebox will play more than 100 songs made by local musicians, both well-known and unsung. 100 Years of Rodeo in Bandera, by members of the Bandera ProRodeo, and Dudes, Dances & Delights: Bandera Birthplace of the Texas Dude Ranch, by the Frontier Times Museum, will explore why tourists flock to experience the cowboy way of life. In telling the story of the history of the dude ranches, Diane Conoly and Kim Schott of the Dixie Dude Ranch has digitized the complete library of an early trade magazine, the Dude Wrangler, that publicized local events and dude ranch happenings from the 1940s to the 1960s. Guests will be able to peruse the digital issues celebrating the golden age of the dude ranch.
Around the community and the county, exhibits and programs will be held at the Arnold-Tyron Cemetery, Bandera Kronkosky Library, Bandera Natural History and Art Museum, Frontier Times Museum, Lakehills Area Library, Medina Community Library, Pipe Creek Community Center, Pipe Creek General Store, River Oaks Courts, the historic Langford House, and the Sheepwalk Ranch.
As you walk along Main Street look for the “If These Walls Could Talk” participation signs. These businesses will have on display their own unique history.
A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at the Bandera Middle School on June 21, at 9:30 a.m., opening the exhibit to the public before ceremonies begin at 10:30 a.m.
The hours for the Smithsonian exhibit are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The Smithsonian exhibit and local exhibits at the Bandera Middle School are free. The Bandera Middle School is located at 1005 Cherry Street just one block off of Main Street.
For more details on the complete roster of exhibits and programs, please visit www.banderacowboycapital.com – Smithsonian tab or www.frontiertimesmuseum.org – Events page. Visitors to the exhibit will also be given a map and calendar of events of all that is happening in Bandera this summer to celebrate being a part of the Smithsonian.