Vernon in Wilbarger County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Red River Valley Museum

Photographed by Mark Hilton, July 22, 2016

1. Red River Valley Museum Marker

Inscription. Features one of Texas' famed regional collections of Indian artifiacts, tracing history of early man along the Red River. Before Chisholm Trail days, when thousands of cattle crossed Red River at nearby Doan's Crossing, Vernon area was home to tribes of Comanche, Kiowa, and Wichita. Mr. and Mrs. J. Henry Ray of Vernon spent 30 years gathering artifacts, which they donated to Wilbarger County, Oct. 14, 1963.

Wilbarger County Museum Board of Directors:
Dr. J. J. Muirhead, President
M.K. Berry • Mrs. Frank Long
Bill Bond • Mrs. Wood Magee
F. T. Dabney • Charles P. Ross
Sen. Jack Hightower • Mrs. W. F. Wilson

Erected 1967 by State Historical Survey Committee. (Marker Number 4221.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Indigenous Peoples and Communities. A significant historical year for this entry is 1963.

Location. 34° 9.496′ N, 99° 19.238′ W. Marker is in Vernon, Texas, in Wilbarger County. It can be reached from the intersection of College Drive (U.S. 70) and Hospital Drive. Located in a parking lot median, at the museum. Touch for map. Marker is

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at or near this postal address: 4600 College Dr, Vernon TX 76384, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Big Country.

It is also on the American Great Plains

and specifically on the Southern Plains.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Comanchería,

the Republic of Texas,

and one of the Confederate States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Great Western Trail (here, next to this marker); Wilbarger County (a few steps from this marker); Waggoner-Hicks House (approx. 1½ miles away); W. D. Berry Home (approx. 1.7 miles away); Vernon Drugstore (approx. 2.1 miles away); Wilbarger County Veterans Memorial (approx. 2.1 miles away); Wilbarger County WWI Memorial (approx. 2.1 miles away); Early Wilbarger County (approx. 2.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Vernon.

Also see . . . Red River Valley Museum website. (Submitted on August 13, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Red River Valley Museum image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, July 22, 2016

2. Red River Valley Museum

Red River Valley Museum Marker in median of parking lot. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, July 22, 2016

3. Red River Valley Museum Marker in median of parking lot.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 25, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 13, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 730 times since then and 48 times this year. Last updated on November 21, 2025, by Dave W of Co, Colorado. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 13, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.