Heart of Texas Historical Museum, Inc.

06/07/2026

06/07/2026

In honor of Veteran's Day, an article about one of Brady's finest: James Earl Rudder.

06/07/2026

D-Day will always hold a special meaning in McCulloch County.
We give thanks to all.

A WREATH WILL BE PLACED THURSDAY JUNE 6 th AT THE RUDDER STATUE ON THE 80 th ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY IN HONOR OF THE SOLDIERS THAT STARTED THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF WORLD WAR II. THE RUDDER STATUE IS LOCATED ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE COURTHOUSE SQUARE IN BRADY TEXAS. THE MUSEUM WILL ALSO HAVE SPECIAL DISPLAYS IN THE CONTROL TOWER TO COMMEMORATE THIS EVENT THE MUSEUM WILL BE OPEN FROM 10 am to 2:00 Pm AND WILL BE FREE TO THE PUBLIC

05/28/2026

05/04/2026

Help us raise funds through San Angelo gives This is a 501-c3 organization It helps to fund other 501 c-3 organizations by adding funds to donations received for the museum. Your help is really needed to help keep all displays and historical documents current for educational purposes and programs for the public They can be accessed at website on bottom of photo. You can donate anytime but official start is midnight tonight thru midnight tomorrow nite. We could really use the funds

04/15/2026

This photo was sent to me awhile ago from Glen Brubaker. Her mother Naoma Zoe Deeds snapped this photo 1936 just before this bridge washed out moments later during flood. This is the old Frisco railroad Bridge crossing the Colorado River between McCulloch county and Brown county near Present day Winchell. The bridge was West of the old iron bridge on US 377. The Frisco railroad was first railroad into Brady from Ft Worth. Was later bought out by Santa Fe.

03/13/2026

Not McCulloch County but some interesting history about our neighbors in Mason County and Fort Mason.

On March 15, 1856, a court-martial convened at Fort Mason to try Capt. Charles Edward Travis in what became one of the most sensational military courtroom dramas of its day. Travis was the son of Alamo hero William Barret Travis. Born in Alabama in 1829, he was raised in New Orleans by his mother and stepfather after his father’s death. In 1848 he moved to Brenham, where he practiced law and later served in the Texas legislature. In 1855 he received a commission as a captain in the Second United States Cavalry.

Trouble followed him almost immediately. While stationed at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, another officer accused Travis of slander. Additional charges soon followed, including cheating at cards and leaving camp without authorization while traveling to Texas. His superior officer, Col. Albert Sidney Johnston, relieved him of command and placed him under confinement.

When the court-martial opened at Fort Mason, Travis handled much of his own defense and pleaded not guilty to the charge of “conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.” The proceedings drew considerable attention, especially since Johnston himself, along with other officers, testified against him. Johnston’s wife, Eliza, wrote in her diary that Travis was “a mean fellow.” The court ultimately found him guilty, and he was dismissed from the service.

Travis spent the remaining years of his life trying to clear his name, but his efforts failed. He died of tuberculosis in 1860.

Shown here: the only known photo of Charles Travis, William Travis' son.

02/22/2026

1841 Map Range of the Comanche Range

02/17/2026

Found a few loose pages from a scrapbook that appears to have belonged to a nursing student in the 1920s.

Some pictures have the old Brady hospital in the background, some are her personal photos. But this titled picture of her nursing class is one we have all felt at some point.

Here’s hoping today didn’t leave you tired and disgusted. 😉

Thinking of turning this into a magnet or a post card we could sell at the museum. 🤔