The historic objects, artifacts, and collections stewarded by the Texas Historical Commission (THC) are directly related to the 20 historic sites managed by the THC and represent the material culture and histories of sites during their period of significance in Texas history. The permanent collections include archeological, historic furnishings, costume, and fine art collections. The archeological collections are almost entirely composed of historical artifact assemblages and result from investigations at 19th- and 20th-century military forts, Native American sites, plantation sites, and house museums.
Fort Collections
Fort Griffin, Fort Lancaster, and Fort McKavett were established in the 1850s and 1860s in West Texas to protect settlers from Native American raids and to guard military supplies and commercial shipments. A stepping-off point for many expeditions heading westwards, these forts are comprised of barracks, residences, hospitals, bakeries, and stables. Fort collections include unique and representative material culture from late-19th-century American military and domestic life.
Plantation Collections
Levi Jordan and Varner-Hogg Plantation collections hail from THC sites in Brazoria County. Both plantations were active in the first half of the 19th century up through the Civil War when plantation economies shifted to sharecropper agriculture. Both plantation sites have distinctive collections that directly relate to the enslaved peoples who lived there. In the 1980s, University of Houston archeologists conducted extensive excavations at Levi Jordan Plantation. The collections from those excavations include slave-made personal items, as well as domestic and industry-specific material culture.
House Museum Collections
Sam Bell Maxey House, Starr Family Home, and Fulton Mansion State Historic Sites are three grand historic house museums operated by the THC. Owned by prominent Texas businessmen from the1880s to the 1960s, the collections from these sites include personal effects, fine and decorative arts, photography, and archives collections belonging to multiple generations of wealthy and socially influential Anglo-American members of late-19th-century Texas society. Most of these collections are stored on site and available to the public as exhibits. Sam Bell Maxey House and Starr Family Home are the most comprehensive family-associated collections and carry important signature objects such as diplomas, portraits, and jewelry within their collections.
