Gainesville: Morton Museum of Cooke County

Gainesville: Morton Museum Of Cooke County

  • <p>Morton Museum of Cooke County</p> <p>Red brick building named Morton Museum of Cooke County</p>
  • <p>Morton Museum building’s first use was as a fire station</p> <p>Horse-drawn fire wagons in front of a two storey brick building with a tower</p>
  • <p>Glidden barb wire poster</p> <p>Poster advertising Glidden Steel Barb Wire showing trains, cattle, and a manufacturing plant</p>
  • <p>Fencing the range (TxDOT)</p> <p>Cowboy with rolls of barb wire</p>
  • <p>Newspaper ad for barb wire, 1874.</p> <p>Newspaper ad in 1874 marketing barb wire to farmers</p>
  • <p>Fenced cattle. (Deaf Smith County Library)</p> <p>Herd of cattle behind a barb wire fence</p>

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The first reels of barbed wire were reportedly sold in Gainesville at the Cleaves and Fletcher hardware store in 1875. Gainesville ranchers became some of the first to learn the power of the wire that would revolutionize the ranching industry and put an end to the Chisholm Trail by closing off the open range. Until that time, however, Gainesville was a cattle center along the trail. Area history—from prehistory to World War II—is showcased at the Morton Museum of Cooke County, located in a beautifully restored 1884 building that used to house the jail, firehouse, and city hall.

Morton Museum of Cooke County

  • Hours: Tuesday – Thursday, 10 a.m. – 5 pm., Friday, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
  • Admission: $2
  • 210 S. Dixon St., Gainesville, TX
  • 940-668-8900
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