What was prehistoric Texas like? Find out at Historic Upshur Museum exhibit

Published 5:25 am Thursday, January 16, 2025

From Staff Reports

An exhibit at the Historic Upshur Museum in Gilmer on display through Jan. 31 aims to educate people about the first people to call present-day Texas home: Paleoindians.

“A Time Before Texas,” created by the Texas Department of Transportation and circulated in partnership with Humanities Texas, “considers both current science and cultural tradition to explore what life was like for the first people to call early Texas home,” according to the museum.

The exhibit consists of several panels that discuss early-day animals such as mammoths and saber-toothed tigers, and they give the viewer information about how Paleoindians might have traveled to North America, according to reporting by NewsWest9.

“In the last decade, archeologists have made a number of fascinating new discoveries about the way Paleoindians lived and even how they arrived in the land we now call Texas,” the museum said. “These first peoples passed on knowledge and traditions through the generations, eventually giving rise to many culturally distinct Tribes and Indigenous American communities.”

The exhibit will be on display through Jan. 31. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

The Historic Upshur Museum, which opened in 1993, is housed in Gilmer’s former post office built in 1925.

Annual membership dues for the Historic Upshur Museum vary. An individual membership costs $40, and a family membership costs $50. The museum is a nonprofit organization, and donations are tax-deductible.

People can purchase a membership at the museum or by visiting the museum’s website, historicupshurmuseum.com. On the home page, prospective members can scroll to the “Get Involved” tab, select “Membership,” download and fill out the membership form and mail it to the museum, 119 Simpson St. in Gilmer, TX 75644.

The museum also can be reached by calling (903) 843-5483 or emailing hum1925@etex.net.