Posted on 11/02/2002 9:23:43 AM PST by Theodore R.
Saturday, November 2, 2002 Last modified at 2:24 a.m. on Saturday, November 2, 2002 © 2002 - The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Museum a treasure chest for town
By LINDA KANE AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
FLOYDADA — Imagining the simple, perhaps even stark, existence of early settlers or envisioning the use of early medical instruments might be a stretch for many people.
But a step inside the Floyd County Historical Museum brings the images into focus.
The museum in Floydada — a community of fewer than 4,000 residents about 50 miles northeast of Lubbock — provides a look back at the county's history dating more than 500 years.
What it reveals is an amazing account of how this rural farming and ranching community came to be.
Display cases lining the corridor contain artifacts from the 1500s when Francisco Vasquez de Coronado explored the South Plains. Crossbow points, nails and horseshoes mark the Spanish ruler's travels through Floyd County, according to Carolyn Jackson, the museum's executive director.
Coronado is widely believed to have been the first European to explore the Southwest.
Managing the nonprofit museum on a tight budget proves challenging, but it's important to the community to preserve its history, Jackson said.
"It's hard work, but it's fun," she said. "And then when these people come in and are so pleased and they start in, 'I cannot imagine a town of this size having this much history.' It really is amazing."
Heirlooms from Maud Duncan, the first child born in Floydada, also are enshrined at the museum. Duncan was born April 10, 1886, in a dugout in Blanco Canyon seven miles south of the settlement that later became Floydada.
Arthur B. Duncan, her father, was the first county judge when Floyd County was formally organized in 1890, Jackson said.
Maud Duncan's grandson, Randy Hollums, is the current 110th Judicial District judge. His territory includes Floyd County.
Of other interest at the museum is a peculiar looking item called a mad stone.
According to a July 6, 1922, newspaper article, the mad stone was used to draw poison from a child who'd been bitten by a rabid cat.
The mad stone was placed into boiling milk and then applied to the child's wound. According to the newspaper article, it took 13 hours for the mad stone to draw out the poison.
"If someone had a mad stone, everybody in the community knew about it," Jackson said.
Also at the museum is a phrenology chart used by traveling professor Ned Walker. He classified people's character traits and talents by reading the bumps on their heads and by reading the shape of their noses.
Some of Jackson's favorite items at the museum include military exhibits.
A display dedicated to World War I features a uniform, escape map and en graved shell casings.
Another display is dedicated to Maj. Vernon Parker, a pilot on the Memphis Belle during World War II. Parker was a photographer in Floyd County for many years, and his widow, Eva, still resides there, Jackson said.
Particularly impressive in side the museum is a two-story replica of the Thomas Mont gomery ranch house, which was headquarters for the T-M Bar Ranch. Montgomery was among the county's first settlers.
In addition to the displays, the museum holds many county records, including death and birth records.
"There's just something about this (museum)," Jackson said. "The atmosphere and the way it's arranged and our exhibits. We have many, many return visitors."
The museum, born in 1971, is just north of the town's main square.
"We're not only preserving history," Jackson said. "But we're preserving what happens today for future generations."
lkane@lubbockonline.com 766-8754
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