Helena: Karnes County Museum

Helena: Karnes County Museum

  • <p>Karnes Country Museum</p> <p>Two storey building with stairs leading to second floor balcony</p>
  • <p>William Butler (Witte Museum)</p> <p>Portrait of William Butler</p>
  • <p>Home of William Butler, built 1895</p> <p>Large two storey home with rooftop cupola and porches on both floors in a state of disrepair</p>
  • <p>Gravestones of William Butler and his wife Adeline. (Wilson County Historical Society)</p>

Karnes County’s best-known cattleman is William Butler, whose landholdings topped 100,000 acres and whose herd numbered more than 10,000. His fame was due, in part, because he was one of the first to ride the Chisholm Trail in 1868. He said he drove cattle “to connect four-dollar cow with the forty-dollar market” – which he did earlier, and for longer, than almost anyone else. Helena bills itself as the “toughest town on Earth,” and the Karnes County Museum interprets many of the stories of gunfights, saloons, and brothels that comprised one aspect of the cowboy era.

Karnes County Museum

  • Hours: Friday - Monday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
  • Admission: None
  • 8167 N. FM 81, Helena, TX
  • 830-780-3210