Hutchinson County Historical Museum

The Hutchinson County Historical Museum is a museum in Borger, Texas, with more than sixty exhibits spanning the period from the 16th-century expedition of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado to the Texas Panhandle petroleum boom of the 1920s. The museum, which opened in 1977, is housed in a two-story building constructed in 1927.

Borger was established in 1926 after the discovery of the Panhandle oil field. A boomtown of tents and shacks quickly appeared, and the population reached some 40,000. In time, orderly growth prevailed, and Borger became a center for oil, chemicals, and cattle. The skyline is dominated by oil towers and petroleum plants. Borger is the home of Frank Phillips College.

Exhibits encompass history, culture, and art items. Annual events include African American History in February, Oil Boom Heritage in March, Cinco de Mayo Heritage in May, the Beach Bash and Old West Heritage in June, the Quilt Show in July, Native American Awareness in November, and Christmas in December.

Old West Heritage Month features community treks to sites near the county seat of Stinnett: the First Battle of Adobe Walls in 1864 and the Second Battle of Adobe Walls in 1874, in which Quanah Parker surrendered Comanche resistance to white settlement. The battle ended with a 7/8 of a mile shot fired by buffalo hunter Billy Dixon. The museum observes the birthday of Stinnett each September.

In 1980, the Hutchinson County Historical Commission published The History of Hutchinson County, used as a reference for the article on the history of Borger in the Handbook of Texas. The museum directs visitors to the historical markers available in Borger and throughout Hutchinson County.

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