Museum and Visitor Center
of the Bastrop County Historical Society
News
SCAVENGER HUNT - MAY 21, 2011
Join the fun and get your 4-6 person team together for an afternoon of sleuthing and competition, and an evening of dinner and dancing featuring the Still Rockin’ Band! Registration deadline is May 12 and the entry fee is $60 per person. Start at the Green Chai, 811 Main Street, at 4 pm and play to win! Or attend the dinner and dance only at 8 pm for $20 per ticket. This event is a fundraiser to support the new Museum and Visitor Center. For more information, call 512.303.0057 or send an email to: bchs1832@sbcglobal.net.
Think COTTON ....
and you'll find yourself in the same state of mind that preoccupied Bastrop and Bastrop County throughout its first 100 years. That mindset is the subject of a special Museum exhibit: "When Cotton Was King, The History of Cotton in Bastrop County."
The exhibit runs through the fall and traces the arc of cotton's dominance over the local economy. Cotton, corn, and cattle held economic sway in Bastrop County with cotton leading until the early 1900's when corn and cattle began to displace cotton as the "cash crop" of the day. At its peak (around 1900), Bastrop County produced a remarkable bounty of 27,000 bales of cotton.
Cotton was the financial engine that supported small family farms and plantations manned by slaves, giving way after the Civil War to sharecroppers and tenant farmers, and later, to farms crewed by Mexican immigrants. The exhibit tracks these transitions through early photographs and accounts, personal artifacts and tools associated with "King Cotton."
New Museum and Visitor Center
In early March the City of Bastrop began construction of its new City Hall building. This brings good news because the Historical Society is now another step closer to occupying the old City Hall for a new Museum and Visitor Center. Renovation of the old City Hall is projected to cost approximately $1.25 million with our move-in date targeted for early 2012.
The Capital Campaign Committee has proudly announced that the Member Match Challenge has been met, and is extremely grateful to the anonymous patron who matched dollar-for-dollar, the first $50,000 in contributions made by BCHS members. Contributions, commitments, and pledges have now reached a whopping $1,050,000. The generosity and support from our members, businesses, and governmental agencies is sincerely appreciated.
But, don't stop now. Traditionally, the hardest part of any fund raising effort is the last part. "We are now working on our last $200,000 - and we still need your help and support to reach our goal," said Capital Campaign Chair Mark Rose.
For more information about our Capital Campaign and how you can contribute to our effort, click here.