| Title: |
New Exhibit - Meet the Fergusons: Two Governors for the Price of One |
| Start Date: |
September 5, 2009 |
| End Date: |
March 13, 2010 |
| Description: |
The opening will feature a tour of the new exhibit, as well as a performance with Mary Jean Boston in the role of Miriam Ferguson. Mrs. Boston originally wrote the performance for the Living Room Theatre of Salado. Punch and cookies will also be served at this free event, which will be held from 2-4 p.m. |
| Address: |
Bell County Museum
201 N Main St
Belton, TX 76513 |
|
View Maps:
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| Hours: |
Tues. - Sat. 12:00pm - 5:00pm |
| Contact: |
254-933-5243 |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Details |
| Mrs. Ferguson (1875-1961), a Bell County native, was the first woman to be elected governor in Texas. She served two terms as governor of Texas, 1925-1926 and 1933-34. Her husband, James E. Ferguson (1871-1944), was also a Bell County native and served as governor of Texas from 1915 to 1917. The Bell County Museum is home to the largest public collection of Ferguson material, donated by the Ferguson family in 1991. Included in it is First Lady Miriam Ferguson’s inaugural ball gown, worn at her husband’s first inauguration in 1915. Jim Ferguson's inauguration took place in the House of Representatives Chamber at the Capitol in Austin. In The Fergusons of Texas, eldest daughter Ouida Ferguson Nalle described the setting: “The Speaker's stand was a grotto for the orchestra; an electric fountain played water over the background. Balloons, flags, potted ferns and bunting decorated the rest of the House, but that electric fountain was really something!” |
