Water Rails & Oil - Historic Mid & South Jefferson County
An illustrated history of the Mid and South Jefferson County area, paired with the histories of companies, families and organizations that make the region great.
An illustrated history of the Mid and South Jefferson County area, paired with the histories of companies, families and organizations that make the region great.
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MUSEUM OF<br />
THE GULF<br />
COAST<br />
The Museum of the Gulf Coast tells the<br />
extraordinary history of the upper Gulf Coast<br />
region with an amazing array of exhibits and<br />
programs. Mixing history with popular culture,<br />
it offers a memorable experience for all ages.<br />
Owned and administered by the Port Arthur<br />
<strong>Historic</strong>al Society, the Museum’s mission is to<br />
collect, preserve, display, and interpret the<br />
heritage of the Gulf Coast region between<br />
Houston, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana.<br />
Although it began in 1964 as the Port Arthur<br />
Museum, the Museum of the Gulf Coast opened<br />
at its present location with an enlarged scope of<br />
exhibits on July 2, 1994. Since then it has<br />
continued to grow in visitation, outreach,<br />
education and public programming. For more<br />
than a decade it has successfully provided an<br />
entertaining and educational experience for<br />
local residents and tourists alike, while also<br />
preserving the rich heritage of a diverse region.<br />
Staffed by a small team of full and part-time<br />
employees as well as a multitude of dedicated<br />
volunteers, the Museum is sustained by a<br />
partnership between the Port Arthur <strong>Historic</strong>al<br />
Society, Lamar State College-Port Arthur and the<br />
City of Port Arthur.<br />
Located at 700 Procter Street in downtown<br />
Port Arthur, the Museum’s thirty-nine-thousandsquare-foot<br />
facility contains permanent and<br />
temporary exhibits that interpret pre-Columbian<br />
to contemporary history, natural history, popular<br />
culture and fine and decorative arts. Highlights<br />
include a 125-foot mural depicting the Gulf<br />
Coast from prehistory to the discovery of oil at<br />
Spindletop, prehistoric fossils, Civil War<br />
cannons, a pioneer cabin, seashells from around<br />
the world, fine glassware, works of art by<br />
renowned artist Robert Rauschenberg and the<br />
original Fresnel lens from the Sabine Bank<br />
Lighthouse. Galleries dedicated to music and<br />
sports feature such notables as Janis Joplin and<br />
Jimmy Johnson.<br />
The Museum of the Gulf Coast is considered<br />
by many to be the number one attraction in<br />
<strong>South</strong>east Texas and <strong>South</strong>west Louisiana,<br />
linking the two areas together. It is a quality<br />
museum like none you have ever seen!<br />
Sharing the Heritage ✦ 65
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