Calendar: Museums and History

Coming This Fall to the Brenham Heritage Museum!

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, September 23rd, when noted historian and author Dr. Paul Spellman returns for a compelling presentation: “June, 1865 – The Civil War Ends in Texas.”

In this engaging talk, Dr. Spellman will explore the dramatic final days of the Civil War as they unfolded in Texas—a region far from the eastern battlefields but deeply involved in the war’s closing chapter. From battles fought even after General Lee’s surrender to the arrival of Union forces in Galveston and the eventual emancipation of enslaved people, Texas played a unique and often overlooked role in the war’s conclusion. Through vivid storytelling and insightful analysis, Dr. Spellman brings to life the tension, uncertainty, and transformation that defined June 1865, when the news of the Confederacy’s defeat finally reached the Lone Star State. Discover how these pivotal events shaped the beginning of Reconstruction and laid the foundation for a new era in Texas and U.S. history.

📍 Location: 105 S Market St, Brenham, TX
📅 Date: Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025

🕠 Time:
5:30 PM – Members-Only Reception/Meet the Author, with light bites and beverages
6:00–7:00 PM – Presentation

🎟️ Admission:
FREE for museum members
$10 for non-members

📩 RSVP: Please email admin@brenhamheritagemuseum.org to reserve your spot.

📣 EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT! ⚾️
Step up to the plate with the Brenham Heritage Museum as we welcome Historian Mike Vance for an unforgettable presentation:
“Batter Up: A History of Texas Semi-Pro Baseball”

🗓 Tuesday, August 26, 2025
🕕 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
📍 105 S Market St, Brenham, TX 77833

🎟 Admission: $10 (Free for museum members!)
🍷 Members-only reception at 5:30 PM
📚 Author book sale: Don’t miss the chance to purchase sports-related books and chat with the author!

⚾ Did you know? Brenham has long been known as the Baseball Capital of Texas — a title earned through generations of talent and passionate fans. But Texas’s baseball legacy stretches far beyond, with small towns and big cities alike shaping the sport’s unique place in American history.

In his presentation, Mike Vance will explore the exciting stories that brought semi-pro baseball to life across the Lone Star State.

👉 Bring a friend, support the museum, and enjoy an evening of Texas baseball history.

Join us on Tuesday, July 29th from 5:30 to 6:30 PM at the Julie & Larry Tegeler Bus Depot Gallery (313 E Alamo St) for an insightful evening of storytelling and history.

Authors Charles Swenson, Tina B. Henderson, Ph.D., and Robert R. Bubb, Ph.D. will discuss their newly released book, Voices of Camptown: Untold Stories from a Freedom Colony Cemetery. Discover the remarkable lives and legacies of African Americans in post-Emancipation Washington County, Texas, as brought to life through this compelling work.

This meticulously researched and deeply human narrative begins where most histories end: in the overgrown, nearly forgotten Camptown Cemetery. Here, the authors uncover the lives of those who transformed adversity into opportunity, building churches, schools, businesses, and a vibrant civic life in the shadow of Reconstruction and Jim Crow. Through painstaking archival work, oral histories, and community collaboration, the book resurrects the voices of individuals like Wiley Hubert, a master carpenter and community builder; Sam Love, a pioneering educator; and Mary Marks, whose personal journey echoes the broader struggle for dignity and recognition.

Admission is $5 for non-members and museum members get in for free. RSVP to: admin@brenhamheritagemuseum.org
Copies of the book will be available for sale at the event.