Llano Estacado Museum

One of the most interesting cultural facilities on the Wayland campus is the Llano Estacado Museum. Housed in the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Regional Heritage Center in the northeast corner of the campus, the Museum offers an historically rich and remarkably well done presentation of regional history within a striking contemporary architectural design. Check our schedule for operating hours.

The Museum's exhibits begin with the history of the area's geology. Minerals and rocks accompany the display of a mammoth skull extracted from Castro County, Texas. The geology display is completed with a depiction of modern flora and fauna.

The remains of ancient Indian tribes include tools and weapons. Later Indians are depicted living in a full-size model of a teepee. Invading Spanish explorers, which brought horses into the Staked Plains. Buffalo hunters who perfected the slaughter of the Plains most valuable animals.

By the 19th century, Texas began to have significant English-speaking communities. The Texas constitution encouraged expansion into the Plains. The museum displays a school setting, doctor's office, and farmer's methods as well as a gambling scene and jailhouse. The mercantile store was a resource for many articles of "civilization."

Barbed wire and windmills made cattle-ranching possible on the Llano Estacado. Museum displays include a ranching tack room, a blacksmith shop, windmill, springhouse, and watering tank. Finally, railroads made the long cattle drive unnecessary.

The elegance of the Victorian era is presented in displays of several rooms including a kitchen, a parlor, a bedroom, and a drawing room. Clothing of the period accompanies typical furnishings.

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