National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame

National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas.

High Desert Princess equestrian statue at National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

Caption at base of High Desert Princess statue.

The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is a museum and association which honors women of the American West who have displayed courage or spirit and who have distinguished themselves while exemplifying the pioneer spirit. The facility is located in the Cultural District of Fort Worth, Texas, USA, adjacent to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.

Overview

The museum was begun in the small basement of the library in Hereford, the seat of Deaf Smith County in West Texas by Margaret Clark Formby (1929–2003), wife of the radio broadcaster Clint Formby. Formby sought for a larger city to take over the exhibits, and Fort Worth won the competition.^[1] Formby's husband's uncle was the Texas politician Marshall Formby, a state senator, highway commissioner, and gubernatorial candidate.

Inside the museum

• The Hall of Fame: Photographs, artifacts, and in-depth information on cowgirls honorees. The center of the building is an empty rotunda propped up by twelve Corinthian columns.

• "Kinship with the Land": a 15-minute film about the cowgirls' relationship with the land.

• Connie Reeves Discovery Corral: This is a hands-on play area for children.

• "Into the Arena": is about the cowgirls who were in the rodeo, from victories to heartaches.

• "Claiming the Spotlight": The tremendous influence of cowgirls on pop culture: from matinee idols to musicians, from television stars to the cowgirls portrayed in literature and advertising.

• Jukeboxes with earphonea with ten cowgirl songs, including "My Adobe Hacienda" by Louise Massey and the Westerners.

• The preceding exhibits are located on the second floor, but traveling exhibits are housed on the first floor to the right of the rotunda. Early in 2010, a cross-section of the art of Georgia O'Keeffe, was on temporary display. The short film The Spirit of the Cowgirl, narrated by Michael Martin Murphey, is also shown on the first floor.

Hall of Fame honorees

The following people have been honored:^[2]

• Betty Kruse Accomazzo (1983)
• Anna Lee Aldred (1983)
• Cornelia Ritchie Wadsworth Bivins (2009)
• Texas Rose Bascom (1981)
• Minnie Lou Bradley (2006)
• Linda Burch (1980)
• Ann Lowdon Call (2005)
• Willa Cather (1986)
• Patsy Cline (1994)
• Gail Davis (2004)
• Wantha Davis (2004)
• Margaret Formby (1994)
• Glenna Goodacre (2003)
• Mary Ann Dyer "Molly" Goodnight (1991)
• Ann Seacrest Hanson (2003)
• Caroline Lake Quiner Ingalls (1984)
• Martha Josey (1985)
• Enid Justin (1978)
• Elaine Kramer (2005)
• Rose Wilder Lane (1984)
• Tad Lucas (1978)
• Wilma Mankiller (1994)
• Anne W. Marion (2005)
• Bonnie McCarroll (2006)
• Patsy Montana (1987)
• Esther Hobart Morris (2006)
• Annie Oakley
• Sandra Day O'Connor (2002)
• Alice Greenough Orr (1975)
• Margaret Owens (1976)
• Cynthia Ann Parker (1998)
• Lulu Bell Parr (2005)
• Ruth Roach (1989)^[3]
• Dale Evans Rogers
• Sacagawea (1976)
• Georgie Sicking (1989)
• Velda Tindall Smith (2003)
• Carrie Ingalls Swanzey (1984)
• Sheila Varian (2003)
• Laura Ingalls Wilder (1984)
• Jan Youren (1993)^[4]

References

1. ^ "The Old Philosopher". kpanradio.com. http://www.kpanradio.com/krew/oldphilo.htm. Retrieved December 21, 2009. 
2. ^ All past Honorees, National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, USA. Accessed April 28, 2010.
3. ^ Ruth Roach Salmon, National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, retrieved February 15, 2011.
4. ^ "Jan Youren". National Cowgirl Hall of Fame. http://cowgirl.net/home/jan-youren/. Retrieved October 28, 2010. 

External links

• National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame official website

Coordinates: 32°44′36″N 97°22′9″W / 32.74333°N 97.36917°W / 32.74333; -97.36917