Lumberton Historical Museum

04/10/2026

Our Board of Directors extends sincere condolences to the family of Carolyn Sue McAlister, who passed away on April 3, 2026. Carolyn was an early supporter and former board member of the Lumberton Historical Museum. She was elected in December 2024 as an Honorary Director of the Museum.
A Celebration of Life for Carolyn will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 11, at Forest Lawn Funeral Home in Beaumont, Texas. (Link to the memorial info is provided in the comments.) The Museum has received memorial donations in honor of Carolyn and has added her name to the memorial page on our website.
Our Board of Directors appreciates all of our supporters. Visit our website for how to make a donation Questions? Message us thru facebook, or our website, and a board member will contact you.

03/31/2026

03/05/2026

The Museum has received many donations designated "In Memory Of" loved ones, and persons in our community. You can see a full list of these memorials on our website: https://lumbertonhistoricalmuseum.org/memorial-donations
Want to know more? Message us on facebook, or thru our website. You can also contact one of our directors listed in the comments below.

03/03/2026

Our Friends of the Museum memberships continue to grow!
We appreciate all our supporters as we develop and construct the exhibits that will tell the story of how Lumberton came to be.

We appreciate these supporters who renewed their Annual Memberships:
Timothy Chen Allen
Henny Bodle
Ethan Bryant
Don Burnett
Ashley Conner
Sandra Dartez
Janette Edwards
Trudy Matus
Wayne McDaniel Sr.
Sammye Pinkerton
Susan Sterling
Greg Sterling
Andy & Pat Terrasso Family

Welcome our newest Annual Members:
Corey Stark
The Boykin Family
Donnie Leyendecker
Ryan Walton Family

And our newest Lifetime Members:
The David & Beverly Smythia Family
Alec Welker
Patrick & Georgiana Berg Family
The Alyse Welker Family
Cheryl Emerson
Ashley & Crystal King Welker Family
David & Amanda Richmond Family

Lifetime Memberships for Friends of the Museum are $250 for Individuals and $400 for Families. Our Annual Memberships are $25 for Individuals and $40 for Families. Follow the link to our website to join or make a donation today!
https://lumbertonhistoricalmuseum.org/how-you-can-help

03/02/2026

Today, we honor Texas Independence Day, March 2, 1836, when delegates at the Washington-on-the-Brazos convention formally signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, breaking away from Mexico to create the Republic of Texas. The Texas State Library and Archives shares a drawing of the flag and seal designed for the Republic of Texas, approved in 1839. At the new museum we are creating in Lumberton, we'll soon share history about our local citizens who joined the fight for Texas independence. We'll also learn about the brave women in the Runaway Scrape, an event not frequently noted in history. For all our updates and help support the Museum, join Friends of the Museum today! https://lumbertonhistoricalmuseum.org/how-you-can-help

Today we celebrate Texas Independence Day with a spotlight on the Republic of Texas flag and seal drawing approved on January 25, 1839. The document includes the signatures of the president at the time, Mirabeau B. Lamar, along with leaders of the Texas House and Senate. View the original drawing on display now as part of the "Texas America250" exhibit in our lobby and online: www.tsl.texas.gov/texasamerica250exhibit/historicaldocuments

Image: Texas flag and seal design by Peter Krag, approved January 25, 1839. Texas Secretary of State legislative bills and resolutions filed (General and special laws), 2-7L/3. TSLAC.

02/25/2026

Update from our website - Officers & Directors were recently elected for 2026:
President - Linda Richmond
Vice President - Betty Iles & Kathryne Colligan
Secretary - Jeri Adams Elkins
Treasurer - Sheila Schoen
Directors: Lynette Barks, Felecia Caywood Colton, and Harvey Zernial. Follow our page and check our website for updates: https://lumbertonhistoricalmuseum.org

11/23/2025

Enjoy our first video, illustrating the early days of the Lumberton area. Please follow our page for all the updates. Many thanks to Susan Shine Kilcrease for creating this video!

The Lumberton Historical Museum is researching the history of the Lumberton area with towns and settlements such as Loeb, Concord, Chance and Fletcher in Har...

11/13/2025

The Lumberton Historical Museum is progressing rapidly! We are excited to share the local history we've uncovered. Over 500 hours of research have been done at local history centers, online historical sites, and personal interviews. Our valuable volunteers are hard at work planning and installing exhibits, and continue to raise money for museum furnishings and our monthly expenses in the Lumberton Event Center Complex.
We are happy to announce that our first exhibit, a model of an early dogtrot cabin, has been built inside the museum. Artifacts are being collected for the cabin and other display cases. Our custom murals depicting moments in our area from the 1700s to 1890s will also be installed very soon. The museum's opening has been pushed to early 2026 due to delays with multiple vendor deliverables. We are sorry for the extra wait, but we look forward to seeing everyone soon.
We appreciate our early supporters very much in this initial phase. We have more than 80 individuals and families who have joined Friends of the Museum. Visit our donations page https://lumbertonhistoricalmuseum.org/how-you-can-help to purchase an Annual or Lifetime membership and make contributions such as memorial gifts. Questions? Message us on facebook and one of our Board Members will get back to you.
Thanks to all of you, and we look forward to seeing you at the museum in the near future!

09/26/2025

Welcome our newest Annual Members: Brenda Wood Shaddox, Deborah Miller, Kenny & Kathy Burkhalter, Ted & Eugenie Villanueva, and Dorothy & Alvin McKnight, AND our new Lifetime Family Members: Donean Surratt & Grey Surratt, Kathryne & Larry Colligan Family, and the Graven Family Descendants of Capt. James Chessher. We appreciate all our supporters as we develop and construct the exhibits that will tell the story of how Lumberton came to be. Visit our website to join or donate today! https://lumbertonhistoricalmuseum.org/how-you-can-help

09/12/2025

Remember handwritten letters? Maybe you recall your grandmother writing you when you were a child. The Runaway Scrape in 1836 was a pivotal event in Texas history, and this post by the Ice House Museum includes details from a letter from someone who witnessed it. If you have old letters from the past, we'd be interested in hearing about them!

Silsbee Ice House Museum is located in Silsbee, TX but serves all of SE Texas and SW Louisiana as an art museum and local history museum