Mason's Museum Internet Portal

Add a stop in Mason, Texas as you explore the Texas Hill Country Trails. Just Northwest of Fredericksburg, you will find several important Texas Heritage Cultural Sites. Once the home of Fred Gipson, Mason has three public Museums and a Library Cultural Research Center.

 

In 1845 ...

The Adelsverein (German Emigration Company) acquired a Texas land grant and was sending thousands of Germans to Texas to settle land deep within Comanche Indian Territory. As the German colonists worked their way in from the Gulf Coast, to the new land grant, they established the outpost communities of New Braunfels, Fredericksburg, Kerrville, and Mason.

 

In 1870 ...

Mason County found itself at the nexus of where central Texas cattle trails joined up with The Great Western Cattle Trail. Pegleg Crossing, just north of town was the preferred place drovers choose to ford the San Saba River on their way north to the Kansas railhead. The HooDoo War erupted when local brands inspectors clashed with cattle rustlers making their way through the area.

 

Today ...

Many of the highways leading to Mason follow the old German Emigrant, Indian, and Cattle Trails. A visit to the Mason County Museum allows the visitor to experience the culture of these early pioneers. The trip itself is an experience where many of the highways afford the same views seen by the first settlers. Stops at historic locations all along the way include the Fort Mason Museum , historic cattle drive crossings, country school houses, original homesteads, and pioneer meeting sites.