Last updated: 6/7/2008
1602 S. Trinity
Decatur, TX 76234
PO Box 427
Decatur, TX 76234
Adults $1; children 12 & Under$.50
The grandiose building that sits at the south end of Trinity Street in Decatur is deceptively quiet. Once the home of Decatur Baptist College, it is now the Wise County Heritage Museum owned by the Wise County Historical Society, Inc.
Today the museum is alive with the activity of preserving Wise County's past. The museum is the headquarters for the Wise County Historical Commission and the Wise County Historical Society, Inc. Together they educate citizens about the past through presentations and through the museum, which is kept in operation by donations, admissions, sales from the gift shop and various fund-raising events through the year. Members attend conferences and work to keep the archives updated.
The origins of the Museum trace back to 1891 when the Northwest Texas Baptist Association founded Northwest Baptist College, a four-year institution in Decatur. The first classes were held in the old opera house located on East Main Street, just off the square. Land for the site was purchased through real estate agent C. D. Cates of Decatur. The contract for the administration building was let to S. C. Kilgard of Denison. The first classes were held in the new administration building in September 1893. The institution's first president was Dr. A. J. Emerson, who served for four years until the school went bankrupt in 1896.
The following year, the Baptist Convention bought the property and turned it into Decatur Baptist College, through the support of 20 Wise County men who pledged $1,000 each.
The home of the world's oldest junior college, the school was a preparatory school for Baylor University until it moved to Dallas in 1965 and became Dallas Baptist College. It is now known as Dallas Baptist University. The last president of Decatur Baptist College was Dr. Otis Strickland.
After the college moved, a Decatur businessman, Coke L. Gage, bought the property and then donated the building and approximately one acre of land to the Wise County Historical Society, Inc. for a museum. It now houses one of the best family research facilities in the area, an auditorium, and a museum.
Restoration of the museum has been ongoing since 1965. Tom Cone and Ryan Cunnius, both of Decatur, organized an annual country music festival called the Wise Country Fall Out to raise funds. The show features local talent.
historical artifacts; manuscript collection; the Lost Battalion; dedicastion to the survivors of the USS Houston (CA-30)
guided tours; films; drama; hobby workshops; permanent & temporary exhibitions
monthly newsletters; History of Wise County, A Link With The Past Vol. I; Vol. II; Vol. III; Pioneer History reprint; History of Rhome, Tx; memoirs by former WWII POWs of the Lost Battalion
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