Museum of the Big Bend
Alpine
The Museum of the Big Bend is a first-class institution, in an entirely different league from your average small-town historical museum. A part of Sul Ross State University, the museum is housed in its original building on the SRSU campus, a stone Civilian Conservation Corps structure dating from the 1940s and immaculately renovated in the early 2000s.
The exhibit quality is in keeping with its peers in much larger cities, and the content makes the museum a must-see resource for first time visitors to the region. “Big Bend Legacy,” the permanent exhibit, tells the story of the region’s prehistory and history thoughtfully and from multiple perspectives.
An annual calendar of seasonal art exhibits brings top-quality painting, photography and more to the region. Their annual “Trappings of Texas” exhibit and sale, at 35 years and counting, is the longest-running show of premiere contemporary western art and custom cowboy gear in the nation. Significant past exhibitions have included collections of work by notables such as Frederick Remington, Charles Russell and El Paso’s Tom Lea.
A signature asset is the Yana and Marty Davis Map Collection, containing hundreds of original documents dating back to the sixteenth century. A small selection is on permanent display and everything in the collection is available to anyone for viewing by appointment.
Construction is underway for a Museum Complex expansion offering greatly enhanced exhibit and event facilities. In 2020, True West magazine named the Museum of the Big Bend one of their Top Ten Western Museums in the US.
