Cleburne Community Info & Chamber Directory 2021 | Page 56

Big Bear Native American Museum

The Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum , on U . S . 67 by Lake Pat Cleburne , three years ago added it ’ s biggest and most ambitious attraction to date , the Big Bear Native American Museum .
Named after former Grandview resident Leonard Jackson “ Big Bear ” Beal , the museum chronicles the history of Native Americans , Johnson County and the Chisholm Trail covering a span of prehistoric to modern day .
Admission to the museum is $ 5 for adults and $ 2 for students and $ 4 senior citizens . Children in hand and active military members in uniform get in free . Group rates are available for parties of eight or more . Admission to the rest of the CTOM is free . Big Bear Museum hours are 10 a . m . to 5 p . m . Thursdays , Fridays and Saturdays and 1-5 p . m . Sundays . For information , visit jcchisholmtrail . com .

Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum

Attendance at Pioneer Days , held the weekend before Thanksgiving at the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum , topped 4,500 last year , signalling both the museum ’ s growing popularity and the importance of local history and preservation in the hearts of Cleburnites .
The CTOM , which is overseen by the Johnson County Heritage Foundation , is but one of several museums throughout Cleburne , each of which caters to its own unique and specific mission .
From Native American lore to local history to a Hollywood Classic to the Santa Fe Railroad , the museums of Cleburne offer a wealth of information , exhibits , programs and entertainment not to mention , in several cases , examples of historic architecture .
The popularity of the museum , on U . S . 67 near Lake Pat Cleburne , continues to grow , Johnson County Heritage Foundation Chairman David Murdoch said .
Teepees , Johnson County ’ s original courthouse and cattle drive silhouettes line the access road make the outdoor museum highly visible from U . S . 67 . Word of the museum has spread in the last 16 years , said Murdoch , adding that it ’ s not unusual to encounter visitors from other states or even other countries on any given day .
“ We have 11,900 cars pass by on U . S . 67 everyday , and more and more people are stopping by to see what we are ,” Murdoch said .
Murdoch said the annual Pioneer Days event brings in thousands of visitors every year .
In addition to proximity to the county ’ s original seat , the CTOM grounds are close to where the famous Chisholm Trail passed through Johnson County . What is now U . S . 67 was originally an Indian , and later , military-use trail , Murdoch said .
“ There were a lot of Indians here , Caddo Indians and there were Comanche here , the meanest of the bunch .”
Other additions are more interactive , including working blacksmith and gunsmith shops and a one-room school house , which opened last year . Hundreds of students from Cleburne ISD and other area schools have visited to experience a typical school day 1800s style .
Pioneer Days , held annually on the Friday and Saturday
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