Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum

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Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum The largest history museum in Texas, founded in 1932. (Currently closed.)
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Madilyn Ballew, a curatorial apprentice at PPHM, has been digitizing works from our art collection, and is shown here wi...
10/12/2026

Madilyn Ballew, a curatorial apprentice at PPHM, has been digitizing works from our art collection, and is shown here with our well-known "Madonna of the Windmill" by Re*****on Schuyler (1884-1955). Digitizing artwork like this serves several purposes: It unlocks collection items for the public (especially during a temporary closure like ours). It also allows art lovers and researchers anywhere in the world to explore high-resolution masterpieces at the touch of a button. And it provides a valuable, high-resolution record of the work allowing scholars and curators to study and protect it.

Madilyn has completed a digitization certificate program with DT Heritage, a provider of digitization solutions for museums, libraries and archives. She has been putting those skills to direct use for PPHM.

This copper sculpture in our Texas Gallery is by Allie Victoria Tennant (1898-1971). It's called "Head of a Nymph" and w...
10/09/2026

This copper sculpture in our Texas Gallery is by Allie Victoria Tennant (1898-1971). It's called "Head of a Nymph" and was completed around 1930. Men dominated the world of sculpture in the 1930s, but Tennant gained a reputation for her cast-bronze work. You may have seen the 9-foot-tall Tejas Warrior, one of Tennant's best-known sculptures, placed over the entrance doorway of the Texas Centennial Hall of State building in Dallas.

As Hispanic Heritage Month continues, we are always struck by the poignancy of this 1946 photo of José Romero visiting t...
10/08/2026

As Hispanic Heritage Month continues, we are always struck by the poignancy of this 1946 photo of José Romero visiting the remains of his childhood home in Tascosa. José was around five years old when his adoptive father, Casimero Romero, led a wagon train of pastores (Hispanic sheepmen) into the Texas Panhandle from New Mexico. The family established the community that grew into Old Tascosa along the Canadian River.

In 1946, José Romero collaborated with historian Ernest R. Archambeau to publish "Spanish Sheepman on the Canadian at Old Tascosa" in the Panhandle-Plains Historical Review. That document preserved his recollections of daily life in those early settlements, and included this photo.

Archaeologists discovered these artifacts at two pastores sites in the Texas Panhandle: Corsino Plaza in Potter County (...
10/08/2026

Archaeologists discovered these artifacts at two pastores sites in the Texas Panhandle: Corsino Plaza in Potter County (near Tascosa) and Merrell-Taylor in Floyd County (along Quitaque Creek). The pastores were sheep ranchers who came to the Texas Panhandle from northern New Mexico in the 1870s, led by Casimiro Romero.

Visible in this photo are a garter/suspender clasp, mirror fragments and a toy doll.

In this photo from the PPHM archives, a woman identified only as "Mrs. Shroeter" hand-pumps air into the flat tire of he...
10/06/2026

In this photo from the PPHM archives, a woman identified only as "Mrs. Shroeter" hand-pumps air into the flat tire of her automobile. The photo is dated October 1913. Kay Shuey Palm was likely the photographer. Also note the car jack on the right of the photo.

The vehicle itself is not identified and exact ID is difficult without seeing the front radiator grill. (We can rule out a Ford Model T due to the hubcap design.) Regardless, flat tires were frequent on unpaved roads in the Texas Panhandle back then, and often required roadside hand-pumping.

In late April of this year, we showed you a close-up photo of the 64-foot-long daily calendar kept by Kiowa Chief Zepko-...
10/05/2026

In late April of this year, we showed you a close-up photo of the 64-foot-long daily calendar kept by Kiowa Chief Zepko-ette (Big Bow), covering the years 1874 to 1891. How do we store and protect such an artifact?

This photo shows Veronica Arias (Curator of Anthropology and Natural History) and curatorial assistant Miranda Bible carefully preparing and winding the long calendar onto archival spools for long-term protection after the exhibit had ended. The calendar was then placed in our climate-controlled storage facility.

On the Mulberry Ranch in Armstrong County, in the early 1910s, a photographer captured this image of horses inspecting w...
10/02/2026

On the Mulberry Ranch in Armstrong County, in the early 1910s, a photographer captured this image of horses inspecting what looks to be an early Ford Model T Touring car.

Each of the sets of handcrafted spurs in this photo was worn by a working cowboy or vaquero more than 120 years ago. The...
10/01/2026

Each of the sets of handcrafted spurs in this photo was worn by a working cowboy or vaquero more than 120 years ago. The Mexican vaquero tradition provided the basic style, but as the cattle industry developed in Texas, spurs evolved into distinct regional varieties. Everything from geography to riding style impacted the design.

Typically we live in a dry environment...until weeks like this one. Did you know PPHM staff are constantly tracking the ...
09/30/2026

Typically we live in a dry environment...until weeks like this one. Did you know PPHM staff are constantly tracking the temperature and relative humidity of the Museum environment? A couple of years ago, we placed digital dataloggers in strategic locations throughout our facility to record this information, and we continue to upgrade the loggers and monitor the information they provide.

Our partner museums, which might have objects on loan from PPHM, do the same thing. This is one way collections professionals care for our artifacts.

The construction of the education building on what was then West Texas State Teachers College in Canyon. The first floor...
09/30/2026

The construction of the education building on what was then West Texas State Teachers College in Canyon. The first floor of the building is partially completed in this 1928 photo from our collection. It opened later that year, in October.

Known for years as "Old Ed," the building recently underwent a massive revitalization project after being out of service for around three decades. It reopened earlier this year as the Geneva Schaeffer Education Building.

Address

2503 4th Avenue
Canyon, TX
79015

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

(806) 651-2244

Website

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