Pretty lame, even by small-town museum standards...I had hoped to learn more about the whole Jefferson as navigable port thing, but mostly it's just a haphazard collection of things that people happened to donate. The provenance of most items is pretty suspect, and the treatment of archival materials is absolutely shameful -- this museum needs an intern from a reputable Museum Studies program, stat.
Be sure to see the model train exhibit and go through the museum - the basement through the 3rd floor. Saw an apparition in the basement!!
Neat little museum, LOTS of stairs so be prepared. Self-guided tour starts in basement and goes up 3 or 4 floors. Didn't take too long to go through museum.
They have a collection that is hard to believe. There is stuff everywhere so look carefully and not miss anything!
Spent a half day here and had to make myself leave. We love history and there was so much to see and read about. I will have to go back to complete it all.
Even if you don't enter it, the architecture of the Jefferson Historical Museum is magnificent. It originally housed the 1888 Federal Court House and U.S. Post Office building. If you do visit I suggest you climb up to the garret to look out over what once was the largest inland port in Texas.
Worth your visit... Awesome things here! Must see...Nice place to visit. There are things here you will never see anywhere else.
This museum inhabits the old courthouse on the west end of historic Austin Street. It is crammed full of antiques and collections of all kinds): dolls, firearms, spinning wheels, porcelain figurines, arrowheads, barbed wire, art, medical instruments, etc. You name it - it's probably got it. There's a basement and 3 floors to discover these treasures. Patricia, that sold us the tickets, was so lovely, gracious, and helpful. I really enjoyed hearing about her extensive travels. Did I mention the model railroad located in a separate building out back? It's amazing. The detail is way over the top. The gentleman docent was very knowledgeable and was eager to tell us all about the layout. I highly recommend both tours.
Love the doll collection. It has a lot of old guns, arrowheads, Caddo Indian information, a gown worn by Lady Bird Johnson. A lot of antiques on three floors and a basement.
We agree with the previos review. We went here hoping to find a historical narrative of Jefferson and the surrounding area but found a haphazard collection, some of which was interesting but with little information. You could save the $7 admission and spend some time in Jefferson's antique shops.