Fig. 37. Located on the campus of West Texas State University in Canyon, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum has many exhibits of historical and geological interest that will enhance one’s visit to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. (Courtesy Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum.)
The visitor to Palo Duro Canyon State Park would do well to start his visit at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum located on the campus of West Texas State University in Canyon (fig. 37). Here all phases of history—recent, archeologic, and geologic—are depicted in the various halls. In the Hall of Pre-History are the fossilized remains and reconstructions of ancient animals that were entombed in the canyon walls as long as 200 million years ago. Elsewhere there are exhibits and dioramas that portray human history in the Palo Duro area. Beginning with the oldest known evidence of human occupation about 12,000 years ago, there is a succession of displays that tell the story of man in the Palo Duro—High Plains region. These exhibits follow man from the early Indians living in stone shelters, to the horse-using nomadic plains Indians who relied heavily on the great herds of bison and who fought a desperate but losing battle to save their homeland from invasion by the white man. Here, too, is the story of the coming of the Spanish conquistadores, the comancheros (see p. 6), and the advent of the anglican settler. All are portrayed by means of artifacts that represent the different cultures of the region’s colorful past.
The major theme of the Museum is the history of the High Plains during the period of the cattle industry of the open range. One entire hall is devoted to the display of saddles, spurs, lariats, barbed wire, branding irons, a chuck wagon, and a life size model of a typical cowboy of the Old West. The Museum also houses one of the nation’s finest collections of guns of the Old West, the Old World, and guns of today. Other highlights include scale models depicting scenes of the Old West, exhibits of typical rooms from pioneer homes furnished with furniture of that era, a fine assortment of antique vehicles, and famous collections of Western art.
The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum is easily reached from any of the major highways that pass through Canyon. It is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays and from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Sundays.
