Three-Legged Willie Statue Arriving Soon!

The museum is extremely excited about a big unveiling that will happen at 4pm at Lighting of the Square on November 29th... we will finally have our Three-Legged Willie life-size bronze statue! Yes, the concrete is being laid for Robert McAlpin Williamson, our county's namesake and it has been a long time coming. A huge thanks to Lucas Adams, who designed the statue, carved the actual size model, which the foundry then used to make a cast to pour the bronze into. The process began last year with discussions and design, and he will be finished this week!

Check out the mock-up of how Three-Legged Willie will look- isn't it a wonderful photo op?

So Much to Do, So Little Time!

Hello! We've been very busy the past few months and the blog has suffered, but we're back with a bang and a lot going on in the upcoming weeks.

First off, this Saturday, April 27th is part of Red Poppy Festival. We will have wonderful living history volunteers representing the museum in the Red Poppy Parade- so come on out to hear the Voices from the Past. The parade starts at 10:00, the museum will open after it is finished and stay open late!

After that excitement, Alicea Jones, author of Genuinely Georgetown, will be selling and signing books outside the museum from 11 am to 7 pm. Click here for a 10% off coupon! Part of the proceeds will be donated to the museum.

The following week is exciting as well- Pioneer Days will be out at Old Settler's Park in Round Rock (near the Dell Diamond). Join us from 10 am to 3 pm for candle dipping, pioneer games, corn husk doll making, and much more!

This is also the final week to see the Cynthia Ann and Quanah Parker Trails Exhibit, so stop by while you can.

At the end of May, WWII Comes to Williamson County will be opening- and I will be back with updates on construction progress in the next few weeks!

An Appeal and Events

We are in full swing of planning the WWII exhibit for the museum. The exhibit will open in May of this year. So far, we've had a wonderful response from people wishing to share stories, photographs, and objects. One area where we are lacking is the homefront. We are especially interested in collecting stories and objects from people who lived in Williamson County during WWII and experienced life in our area that is so indicative of life across the country at that time. Please spread the word!

This week at the museum:

Wednesday 13th at 11:30 am: Lunch and Learn program presented by Georgetown Heritage Society. Our own Bob Payne and Mickie Ross will be speaking, so please go out and support this great group and these great people.

Wednesday 13th at 6:30 pm: Come on down to Wildfire's backroom for the monthly Salon series. This month Jessie Carson and Ella Morisson will be speaking about Round Rock Black History.

Finally,  come out to the museum to see our Artifact of the Month- it's sure to bring out the romantic in you this Valentine's week!

Hope to see you around the museum!

Unveiling Artifact of the Month

Happy New Year!

This month we kick off our Artifact of the Month exhibit. Each First Friday we will unveil a new artifact from the permanent collection. The goal is to expose lesser seen, but interesting and relevant, objects that give us an idea of life and culture in Williamson County.

We also hope that people will be encouraged to adopt artifacts to support preservation and donate objects to expand our collections. We're also always on the look out for collections volunteers to help catalog these objects, too! Contact me for more information if you're interested (aevans@williamsonmuseum.org).

To celebrate the New Year, we'll first take a step back in time. The first Artifact of the Month is a beautiful, 1875 Geister clock created by Welch, Spring and Company. The clock required winding every eight days to continue ticking. 

Stop by this First Friday, January 4th, from 6 pm to 8 pm to check out the clock, and works by the Sun City Visual Arts Club.

It has been a collaborative effort to make this possible. I really appreciate all the work of Denise, one of our volunteers who searched through our database to help us identify interesting artifacts. My thanks to everyone else who has made this possible. 2013, here we come!

Holiday Breaks and Openings

Alas, the holidays are here. The museum will be closed the week of December 23 through January 1 to allow staff some time to rest.

We will be open again on January 2. Be sure to come in on First Friday, January 4 to check out the artwork featured in the museum for a Celebration of the Arts!

Holiday Events and Activities!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Night Before the Stroll and Cocoa with Cowboys! We had a great crowd and lots of fun!

This week will also be busy for the museum, we hope to see you around! Friday December 7th: Georgetown: Join us at the museum for First Friday. All of the shops on the square will be open late, we will be serving light refreshments, and the Sun City Dulcimers will be performing for your enjoyment. We will be open additional hours from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Round Rock: If you are in the Round Rock area, we are pleased to announce the museum will participate in Christmas Family Night downtown on Main Street. We will have hands on activities making Swedish Dala horse ornaments in front of the Palm House. It all starts at 6:30!    While you're downtown in Round Rock, also check out the photo exhibit celebrating Round Rock's upcoming 100th Anniversary at the Round Rock Public Library. The exhibit features photographs from the Williamson Museum collection and explores Round Rock history. Saturday December 8th: Back at the museum we will have our monthly Hands On History from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. This month, we will be making holiday light necklaces and garland.

The Georgetown Stroll

The Georgetown Stroll takes place on December 1, 2012. We will be open after the parade, with hands on activities for the kids.

Plus, don't miss Cocoa with Cowboys from 6 - 8 pm
in front of the museum. Enjoy hot cocoa and cookies! We hope to see you there. 

You can also check out our new Vintage Toys exhibit in time for the holidays! Meet 'Maggie', a 100+ year old handmade doll, and see crayons, pull toys, and other ephemera from our collections.