Last updated: 7/26/2009
San Marcos, Texas
Street Address
200 Martin Luther King
San Marcos, TX 78666
Mailing Address
1421 W. Hopkins
San Marcos, TX 78666

Hours

Saturdays 1-5 and by appointment

Admissions

$3 donation

Museum Type(s)

Staff

Linda Kelsey-Jones
phone: 512-754-7946
Margie Villalpondo
phone: 512-353-1383
e-mail:
Richard Gachot
phone: 512-396-7526
e-mail:
Josie Mack
phone: 512-392-4134
e-mail:
Ollie Giles
phone: 512-396-1359
e-mail:
Mrs. Johnnie Armstead
phone: 512-353-0124
Description

Future projects include:
Renovation of Cephus House as additional museum space.
Eddie Durham Jazz Park for family picnics, social events and recreation.
Renovation of unnoccupied First Baptist to Community Center for Dunbar neighborhood.

History

1873 Hays County's First Jail House
1943 Extension added to create USO Dance Hall for Black Soldiers
1954 Converted to Community Center for Dunbar residents
1990 Building renovated to house African American History Museum

Artifact Collections

Papers, letters, books, photographs and antique artifacts related to local and national aspects of African American History. Special exhibits include displays relating to the Buffalo Soldiers, Tuskegee Airmen, WWII Military, Civil Rights, Klu Klux Klan, San Marcos area history, and locally born and raised Jazz great, Eddie Durham.

Research Collections

Papers, letters, books, photographs related to local and national aspects of African American History. Special exhibits include displays relating to the Buffalo Soldiers, Tuskegee Airmen, WWII Military, Civil Rights, Klu Klux Klan, San Marcos area history, and locally born and raised Jazz great, Eddie Durham.

Educational Programs

The museum offers a variety of programs that benefit local citizens as well as schools in San Marcos, San Antonio, Austin and surrounding areas. The popular Traveling Trunk takes history to the schools, universities, civic groups, and to community festivals such as Sights and Sounds and the Texas Natural Swing Festival.

The museum sponsors and hosts several annual events:
February: The Salute to Women Entrepreneurs
March: The Calaboose and the Price Seniors Center welcome the spring season as co-hosts of the Daffodil Days Music Festival.
July: The U.S.O. program honors the building's role as a U.S.O. for black soldiers during World War II.
August: The museum hosts the Eddie Durham Jazz Tribute, an observance that celebrates the life and achievements of this internationally renowned jazz pioneer and son of San Marcos.
December: the museum displays an array of Ethnic and Cultural Christmas Trees.

Throughout the year the museum's trained docents host bus tours, elder hostel, school groups and visitors from around the world.

Governance

Board of Directors, 501 C3

Library
Access: General Public, Students, Scholars
Appointment required: No
Publications

No

ADA
Wheelchair Accessible
Exhibitions
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MUSEUM CONFERENCES

2025 California Association of Museums Conference

February 18 - 22, 2025

San Fransico, California

2025 California Association of Museums Conference

Tuesday, February 18 - Saturday, February 22, 2025

San Fransico, California

Hosted by: California Association of Museums

CAM is hard at work planning for the 2025 conference, set to take place from February 18–22, 2025 in San Francisco. We look forward to highlighting best practices and innovative ideas from California's museum community

The California Association of Museums is excited to continue offering in-person programming for 2025. We will not be requiring proof of COVID vaccination/s, but highly encourage vaccination and boosters. For the health and safety of our colleagues, masks are also encouraged (but not required). Capacity and spaces will be thoughtfully considered in the planning of this event.

For more information, please email programs@calmuseums.org.

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

March 15 - 18, 2025

Blacksburg, Virginia

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

Saturday, March 15 - Tuesday, March 18, 2025

The Inn at Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Virginia

Hosted by: Virginia Association of Museums

2025 Conference Theme: Looking Back to the Future For the past several years, many museums have been deeply involved in planning programs and events to observe the 250th birthday of the United States of America. While this is certainly an occasion to celebrate, this anniversary also forces us as a society to reckon with ongoing inequities and challenges within the US that go back to its inception. As museums ask their audiences to look to the past to understand the present and shape a better future, perhaps now is a good moment in time for Virginia’s museum community to take pause and look back at its own history. We are excited to see you in Blacksburg in March 2025 as we take a moment in our hectic schedules to take pause and visit our diverse pasts. Let’s uncover and share our histories to build a more resilient Virginia museum community.

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

September 10 - 13, 2025

Cincinnati, Ohio

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

Wednesday, September 10 - Saturday, September 13, 2025

TBD

Cincinnati, Ohio

Hosted by: American Association for State and Local History

The 2025 AASLH Annual Conference, in partnership with Ohio Local History Alliance, will take place as the history field makes the final preparations to kickoff off the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States.

The 2025 conference theme, inspired by AASLH’s Making History at 250: The Field Guide for Semiquincentennial, is an opportunity to broadly explore one of the guide’s themes, The American Experiment. For many in the American colonies in 1776, independence from Britain represented a “leap into the dark” into an unknown future

We are excited for you to join us in Cincinnati as we encourage discussion about our democracy and civic institutions and how they can help strengthen understanding, inspire action, and reveal ways that all of us can participate in and shape the ongoing American experiment.

For more information, please call 615-320-3203 or email info@aaslh.org.

view all conferences
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