The Smithsonian traveling museum is coming to San Augustine, Texas for six weeks, August 24 to October 6, 2024. The Smithsonian Institution is our country’s national museum, located in Washington, DC. Their program, called Museum on Main Street (MoMS), brings museum exhibits to small towns across America. San Augustine will be the first of seven towns across Texas honored to host the exhibit.
The exhibit is free to the public and starting August 24 will be open Monday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm, Saturday 10 am to 2 pm, and Sunday 2 to 4 pm. Every Friday at 3 pm, starting August 30, will feature a speaker on an historic topic. Group tours will be available for all ages by reservation, call 936-201-8702.
The exhibit is entitled “Crossroads: Change in Rural America.” This thought-provoking exhibition examines the dramatic shift in America’s rural landscape over the past century. Small towns have continued to thrive through economic innovation and a renewed focus on cultural uniqueness. The exhibit will stimulate discussions on the demographic and economic shifts that transformed rural life and the creative adaptations that have allowed small towns to reinvent themselves.
Visitors will find the interactive exhibit panels of MoMS in the historic Augus Theater in downtown. The Smithsonian exhibit will be accompanied by many exhibits from surrounding communities displaying their unique history representing East Texas and western Louisiana. In addition, a special showcase of San Augustine’s history will be presented in the Stripling Building.
Visitors to San Augustine will also enjoy viewing “Windows into History”, an ongoing display of twenty different topics in the downtown windows. “Windows into History” is an artistic three-dimensional tour of San Augustine’s rich history conceived and created by local Artists, Artisans and Historians. Accompanying the displays are videos produced by local citizens, easily accessible from a QR code with your smart phone.