A very special
museum, the only one of it's kind, can be found in Fort Worth, Texas.
There, recognition and respect is given to the women who "helped
settle the frontier to those who continue to live their lives with the
grit and determination of the American cowgirl."
The list
of honorees is long with names you would recognize such as Dale Evans
and Annie Oakley, author Laura Ingalls Wilder who wrote of her life
in the Little House on the Prairie books, Connie Griffith who was one
of the world’s greatest trick riders and Narcissa Prentiss Whitman,
one of the first two pioneer women to cross the Rocky Mountains.
Women such
as Molly Goodnight, who was known to be a kind women who fed passing
cowboys. She was also perfectly capable of driving wagons and running
the ranch when her husband was away. This visionary couple recognized
the open plains of the west were coming to an end. They rounded up herds
of buffalo, preserving them from extinction. Molly Goodnight helped
found local churches as well as Goodnight College.
Women from
all walks of life are honored - pioneers, artists and writers, tribal
leaders, the entertainers and the modern ranchers and rodeo cowgirls.
The museum
houses an extensive collection of diaries, biographies and historical
recollections of western women and over 3,000 rare photographs. This
unique resource with it's collection of books and videos, etc, serves
as a research library for western studies.
The
National Cowgirl Museum has five galleries of exhibitions featuring
western artifacts, photographs and art work, three theaters, a children's
area, research library, gift shop and more.
The museum
is located at 1720 Gendy Street in the heart of Fort Worth's Cultural
District.
