celebrating 50 years & our new Texas Historical Commission designation

50 years ago, Mary Moody Northen, Galveston County Judge Holbrook, and the county historical commission worked together to create the Galveston County Museum. The museum was initially located in the old City National Bank Building on Market Street in downtown Galveston. In 2008, Hurricane Ike devastated the county, including the museum. Although artifacts were spared on the upper floors, the building's HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems were damaged. Eventually, with the help of county officials, provided a new home for the museum inside the old county courthouse on Moody/21st.

Besides turning 50, the museum is also celebrating another milestone: becoming the only museum in Galveston county certified by the Texas Historical Commission! This certification was granted after a rigorous review of the museum’s collections care policies and emergency plans. An official from the Texas Historical Commission’s Curatorial Facility Certification visited the museum to inspect the museum facilities.

This certification will allow the Galveston County Museum to manage state-owned held-in-trust collections. When the state conducts archeological investigations on non-federal public lands, it yields artifacts such as stone tools, pottery, and related documentation. Because the Texas Historical Commission cannot possibly house all this material, they rely on certified facilities through the state to be repositories for these collections. Museums managing these collections allow researchers access and may exhibit the artifacts.

“Galveston County Museum is the first certified facility approved in Galveston County,” said Brad Jones, Division Director and State Archeologist. “We prefer to house archeological material at certified facilities close to the site of origin. This new facility will allow us to keep archeological material from the upper gulf coast in the region.”