The story of Texas and the American West goes back thousands of years with artifacts displayed from Native American, French, Spanish and Mexican influences. Almost 500 years ago, Cabeza de Vaca documented his travels from this area to Mexico in a book which we have on display. The gallery has a large galleon ship model, which was used employ the Spanish colonization strategy of “gold and souls,” transporting soldiers, missionaries and supplies back and forth across the Atlantic in the 16th century. Artifacts in this gallery for you to see are from the original settlers of Texas – the Indian nations of Karankawa, Comanche, Apache and Kiowa – as well as the Catholic missionaries who set up churches to protect locals from Indian attacks, French invasions and the Spanish government’s fluctuating interest in the area.
