[Illustration: Fig. 37. Located on the campus of West Texas State
University in Canyon, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum has
many exhibits of historical and geological interest that will
enhance one’s visit to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. (Courtesy
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum.)]
The visitor to Palo Duro Canyon State Park would do well to start his
visit at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum located on the campus of
West Texas State University in Canyon (fig. 37). Here all phases of
history—recent, archeologic, and geologic—are depicted in the various
halls. In the Hall of Pre-History are the fossilized remains and
reconstructions of ancient animals that were entombed in the canyon
walls as long as 200 million years ago. Elsewhere there are exhibits and
dioramas that portray human history in the Palo Duro area. Beginning
with the oldest known evidence of human occupation about 12,000 years
ago, there is a succession of displays that tell the story of man in the
Palo Duro—High Plains region. These exhibits follow man from the early
Indians living in stone shelters, to the horse-using nomadic plains
Indians who relied heavily on the great herds of bison and who fought a
desperate but losing battle to save their homeland from invasion by the
white man. Here, too, is the story of the coming of the Spanish
conquistadores, the _comancheros_ (_see_ p. 6), and the advent of the
anglican settler. All are portrayed by means of artifacts that represent
the different cultures of the region’s colorful past.
The major theme of the Museum is the history of the High Plains during
the period of the cattle industry of the open range. One entire hall is
devoted to the display of saddles, spurs, lariats, barbed wire, branding
irons, a chuck wagon, and a life size model of a typical cowboy of the
Old West. The Museum also houses one of the nation’s finest collections
of guns of the Old West, the Old World, and guns of today. Other
highlights include scale models depicting scenes of the Old West,
exhibits of typical rooms from pioneer homes furnished with furniture of
that era, a fine assortment of antique vehicles, and famous collections
of Western art.
The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum is easily reached from any of the
major highways that pass through Canyon. It is open from 9:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. weekdays and from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Sundays.