List of museums in the Texas Gulf Coast

Main article: List of museums in Texas

The list of museums in the Texas Gulf Coast encompasses museums defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e., virtual museums) are not included. Also included are non-profit art galleries and exhibit spaces.

20th Century Technology Museum

Texas Gulf Coast

Counties included are Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Orange, Walker, Waller, and Wharton County, Texas.^[1]

To use the sortable table, click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order

Museums

Austin - Brazoria counties

List of museums in the Austin - Brazoria counties

Museum name	Image	City	County	Notes	Refs
Austin County Jail Museum		Bellville	Austin	Recorded Texas Historic Landmark	[2]
San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site		San Felipe	Austin	Site of 1823 Stephen F. Austin colony	[3]
Alden B. Dow Office Museum		Lake Jackson	Brazoria	Operated by the Lake Jackson Historical Association, Alden B. Dow was Lake Jackson's building designer	[4]
Alvin Historical Museum		Alvin	Brazoria	Operated by the Alvin Museum Society	[5]
Ammon Underwood House		West Columbia	Brazoria	1830s period house. National Register Listing	[6]
Brazoria County Historical Museum		Angleton	Brazoria	Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, National Register of Historic Places	[7]
Brazoria Historical Museum		Brazoria	Brazoria	Area history dating back to the Karankawa people	[8]
Brazoria County Military Museum		Richwood	Brazoria	The restored 1897 Brazoria County Courthouse is currently used to house the Brazoria museum	[9]
Brazos Valley Railroad Society		Brazoria	Brazoria	HO model scale train layout and museum, open on Saturdays	[10]
Brazosport Center for the Arts & Sciences		Clute	Brazoria	Brazosport Art League, Brazosport Center Stages community theater, Brazosport Museum of Natural Science, BASF Planetarium, and Brazosport Symphony Orchestra	[11]
Brazosport Museum of Natural Science		Clute	Brazoria	Features shells, fossils, dinosaur skeletons, wildlife, rocks & minerals and archeology, part of the Brazosport Center for the Arts & Sciences	[12]
Columbia Historical Museum		West Columbia	Brazoria		[13]
Freeport Historical Museum		Freeport	Brazoria	Discovery Dome Planetarium, Children's Museum	[14]
Karpeles Manuscript Museum		Alvin	Brazoria	Part of a larger United States collection, allegedly "the world's largest private holding of important original manuscript documents"	[15]
Lake Jackson Historical Museum		Lake Jackson	Brazoria	Prehistoric era, the plantation era, area's petrochemical industry and the founding of modern Lake Jackson	[16]
Levi Jordan Plantation State Historic Site		Brazoria	Brazoria	Antebellum plantation, site under development and only open to the public on a limited basis and by appointment, includes the plantation house a	[17]
Surfside Beach Historical Museum		Surfside Beach	Brazoria	Independence era replicas and artifacts	[18]
Marguerite Rogers House Museum		Alvin	Brazoria	Operated by the Alvin Museum Society	[19]
Varner–Hogg Plantation State Historical Site		West Columbia	Brazoria	Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. National Register Listing of historic places	[20]

Chambers - Fort Bend counties

List of museums in Chambers - Fort Bend counties

Museum name	Image	City	County	Notes	Refs
Agricultural Historical Museum		Winnie	Chambers	Open by appointment, includes tractors, farming equipment, photos, Winnie Santa Fe Depot	[21]
Chambers County Museum at Wallisville		Wallisville	Chambers		[22]
Barbers Hill / Mont Belvieu Museum		Mont Belvieu	Chambers	Local history	[23]
Baytown Historical Museum		Baytown	Chambers		[24]
Wallisville Heritage Park and Museum		Wallisville	Chambers		[25]
Alley Log Cabin Museum		Columbus	Colorado	Abram (or Abraham) Alley built this cabin as part of the Stephen F. Austin Old Three Hundred colorization of Mexican Texas	[26]
Confederate Memorial Museum		Columbus	Colorado	Built 1883 by town of Columbus, using over 400,000 handmade bricks. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark	[27]
Heritage Society Museum of Weimar		Weimar	Colorado	Housed in the Old Hill Bank building	[28]
Live Oak Art Center		Columbus	Colorado	Contemporary art	[29]
Prairie Edge Museum		Eagle Lake	Colorado	Local area culture	[30]
Mary Elizabeth Hopkins Santa Claus Museum		Columbus	Colorado	Collected 1913-1990 by Mary Elizabeth Youens Hopkins	[31]
Tate-Senftenberg-Brandon House		Columbus	Colorado	19th-century house with furnishings depicting small-town life a century ago, operated by the Columbus Historical Preservation Trust	[32]
Art Museum TX		Katy	Fort Bend	Established in 2020, Art Museum TX is a not-for-profit institution	[33]
Art Museum TX		Sugar Land	Fort Bend	Established in 2020, Art Museum TX is a not-for-profit institution	[34]
Black Cowboy Museum		Rosenberg	Fort Bend	Established in 2017, THE BLACK COWBOY MUSEUM TX is a not-for-profit institution	[35]
Fort Bend Heritage Unlimited Museum		Kendleton	Fort Bend		[36]
Fort Bend Museum		Richmond	Fort Bend	Includes the museum, Long-Smith Cottage, 1883 John M. and Lottie D. Moore House, and the McFarlane House[37]	[38]
Fort Bend County Heritage Unlimited Museum		Kendleton	Fort Bend	Lifestyles of African American settlers and residents from 1865 to 1965	[39]
The Old Foster Community Museum		Foster	Fort Bend	Local history	[40]
George Ranch Historical Park		Richmond	Fort Bend	Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. 20,000 acre working ranch featuring historic homes, costumed interpreters and livestock	[41]
Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugarland		Sugar Land	Fort Bend	Located in Telfair, exhibits on paleontology, space, life and earth science	[42]
Johnny Nelson Katy Heritage Museum		Katy	Fort Bend	Includes farming equipment, agricultural and pioneering history artifacts, photographs and antiques	[43]
Katy Heritage Park		Katy	Fort Bend	Operated by the Katy Heritage Society	[44]
Katy Heritage Society Railroad Museum		Katy	Fort Bend		[45]
Katy Veterans Memorial Museum		Katy	Fort Bend	Artifacts from every foreign conflict involving the United States	[46]
Rosenberg Railroad Museum		Rosenberg	Fort Bend	Includes a railroad tower, rail cars, model train layout	[47]
Sugar Land Heritage Foundation		Sugar Land	Fort Bend	History of the sugar industry in Texas	[48]

Galveston County

List of museums in Galveston County

Museum name	Image	City	County	Notes	Refs
Ashton Villa		Galveston	Galveston	National Register of Historic Places, built in 1859 by businessman James Moreau Brown	[49]
Bishop's Palace		Galveston	Galveston	Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, National Register of Historic Places, Built in 1888 for politician Walter Gresham, later sold to the Houston Diocese of the Catholic Church as a residence for Bishop Christopher Edward Byrne	[50]
Bryan Museum		Galveston	Galveston	Museum works from the collection of J.P. Bryan, direct descendant of early settler Moses Austin	[51]
Butler Longhorn Museum		League City	Galveston	Texas Longhorn history through art, music and artifacts	[52]
Dickinson Historic Railroad Center		Dickinson	Galveston	Artifacts and memorabilia, Dickinson Railroad Depot, the League City Railroad Depot, and the grounds surrounding those depots	[53]
Frank J. Brown Heritage Museum and Barn		Friendswood	Galveston	Reconstructed early 1900s Quaker home with furniture and artifacts. Maintained by the Friendswood Historical Society. Frank J. Brown was one of two 1895 Quaker leaders who established Friendswood, the other being T. Hadley Lewis.	[54]
Galveston Arts Center		Galveston	Galveston	Non-profit	[55]
Galveston County Museum		Galveston	Galveston		[56]
Galveston Historic Seaport		Galveston	Galveston	National Register of Historic Places	[57]
Galveston Railroad Museum		Galveston	Galveston	Railroad - includes rolling stock, model trains, devastation caused by Hurricane Ike, maps, railroad jargon, pictures from the Southern Railroad and the Panama Railway exhibit, railroad dining cars and china	[58]
Galveston Naval Museum		Galveston	Galveston	Home to the USS CAVALLA (WWII Submarine) and the USS STEWART (destroyer escort - one of only 3 in the world)	[59]
Michel B. Menard House		Galveston	Galveston	1838 house, operated by the Galveston Historical Foundation	[60]
Moody Mansion		Galveston	Galveston	Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, National Register of Historic Places	[61]
Moody Gardens		Galveston	Galveston	Includes Discovery Pyramid with traveling exhibits about science and space, Rainforest Pyramid with animals and plants, and the Aquarium Pyramid	[62]
Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum		Galveston	Galveston	History and technology of the area offshore oil and gas industry	[63]
Old Kemah School Museum and Old Railroad Station Museum		Kemah	Galveston		[64]
Rosenberg Library Museum		Galveston	Galveston	Recorded Texas Historic Landmark	[65]
Seawolf Park		Galveston	Galveston	Includes the submarine USS Cavalla (SS-244), the ASW destroyer escort USS Stewart (DE-238), and the remains of a merchant ship	[66]
Texas City Museum		Texas City	Galveston		[67]
Texas Seaport Museum		Galveston	Galveston	Includes the three-masted barque Elissa	[68]
West Bay Common School Children's Museum		League City	Galveston	Managed by the League City Historical Society	[69]

Harris County

List of museums in Harris County

Museum name	Image	City	County	Notes	Refs
1940 Air Terminal Museum		Houston	Harris	Located at William P. Hobby Airport. "Wings and Wheels", Wings Over Houston Airshow, "HobbyFest", the Pops & Props Gala and Silent Auction	[70]
American Cowboy Museum		Houston	Harris		[71]
American Indian Genocide Museum		Houston	Harris	Genocide of American Indians	[72]
Art Car Museum		Houston	Harris	Contemporary art including art cars, fine arts, and artists that are rarely seen in other cultural institutions	[73]
Art League Houston		Houston	Harris	Alternative art exhibitions	[74]
Asia Society Texas Center		Houston	Harris	Facility of the Asia Society, includes an art gallery and Allen Sculpture Garden, art and culture presentations	[75]
Bay Area Museum		Seabrook	Harris	Exhibits include NASA memorabilia, Japanese artifacts, Karankawa Indians, Lunar Rendezvous Festival	[76]
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens		Houston	Harris	Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, National Register of Historic Places,	[77]
Baytown Historical Museum		Baytown	Harris	Recorded Texas Historic Landmark	[78]
Blaffer Art Museum		Houston	Harris	Part of the University of Houston, exhibits national and international works as well as artwork by students	[79]
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum		Houston	Harris	Recorded Texas Historic Landmark	[80]
Children's Museum of Houston		Houston	Harris	90,000 square feet of innovative, interactive bilingual exhibits	[81]
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston		Houston	Harris	Contemporary art created within the past 40 years	[82]
Czech Center Museum Houston		Houston	Harris	Paintings, sculpture, folk art and artifacts, cultural center to preserve the language, scholarship and arts of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Slovakia	[83]
Cypress Top Historic Park Museum		Houston	Harris		[84]
DiverseWorks		Houston	Harris	Nonprofit , established to encourage local areas artists	[85]
Dunham Bible Museum		Houston	Harris		[86]
Health Museum		Houston	Harris	Also knows as the John Philip McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science	[87]
Heritage Society Museum		Houston	Harris	Part of Sam Houston Park, includes exhibits of local history, several historic houses and a church	[88]
Holocaust Museum Houston		Houston	Harris	The 1941-1945 Holocaust in Nazi Germany	[89]
Houston Bicycle Museum		Houston	Harris	As of May 2022, owner was retiring and looking for a new owner	[90]
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft		Houston	Harris	Fiber, metal, glass, clay and wood	[91]
Houston Center for Photography		Houston	Harris	Exhibits of historic and contemporary photography	[92]
Houston Fire Museum		Houston	Harris		[93]
Houston Maritime Museum		Houston	Harris	Includes ship models, navigation instruments and maritime artifacts	[94]
Houston Museum of African American Culture		Houston	Harris	African American history and culture, including regional and national	[95]
Houston Museum of Natural Science		Houston	Harris	Natural history and science	[96]
Houston Police Department Museum		Houston	Harris	Artifacts from the Honor Guard, SWAT, Mounted Patrol, badges, uniforms and other equipment	[97]
Humble Museum		Humble	Harris	Exhibits include oil, cattle, lumber, churches and everyday life	[98]
John C. Freeman Weather Museum		Houston	Harris		[99]
Jung Center of Houston		Houston	Harris	Features an art gallery	[100]
Lawndale Art Center		Houston	Harris		[101]
Lone Star Flight Museum		Houston	Harris	Features historic aircraft and the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame	[102]
McKay Clinic Medical Museum		Humble	Harris	Original furniture and equipment from the 1938 medical clinic, open by appointment with the Humble Museum	[103]
Menil Collection		Houston	Harris	20th century art	[104]
MKT Depot		Katy	Harris	Historic depot and caboose, area railroad artifacts, operated by the Katy Heritage Society	[105]
Michael E. DeBakey Library and Museum		Houston	Harris	aka DeBakey Library and Museum of Baylor College of Medicine	[106]
Museum of American Architecture and Decorative Arts		Houston	Harris	Part of Houston Baptist University	[107]
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston		Houston	Harris	Collection of the museum spans more than 6,000 years of history with approximately 64,000 works from six continents	[108]
Museum of Printing History		Houston	Harris	Also called The Printing Museum	[109]
Museum of Southern History		Houston	Harris	Part of Houston Baptist University, history of the South during the mid-19th century with period room displays	[110]
National United States Armed Forces Museum		Houston	Harris	Also known as the Military Museum of Houston	[111]
National Museum of Funeral History		Houston	Harris	Exhibits include caskets, funeral and mourning artifacts and rituals	[112]
Pasadena Heritage Park & Museum		Pasadena	Harris	Local history	[113]
Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts		Spring	Harris	Features three galleries of changing exhibits	[114]
Pioneer Memorial Log House Museum		Houston	Harris	Located in Hermann Park, operated by the San Jacinto Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas	[115]
The Printing Museum		Houston	Harris		[116]
Rice University Art Gallery		Houston	Harris		[117]
Rienzi		Houston	Harris		[118]
Rothko Chapel		Houston	Harris	Nondenominational chapel with art by Mark Rothko	[119]
Rutherford B. H. Yates Museum		Houston	Harris	History of the Freedmen's Town National Historic District	[120]
San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site		La Porte	Harris	National Register of Historic Places	[121]
San Jacinto Museum of History		La Porte	Harris	National Register of Historic Places	[122]
Seismique		Houston	Harris	Immersive and interactive art museum	[123]
Space Center Houston		Houston	Harris	Visitor's center of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center	[124]
Spring Historical Museum		Spring	Harris	Located at the western edge of "Old Town Spring"	[125]
Station Museum of Contemporary Art		Houston	Harris	Jim and Ann Harithas, museum directors	[126]
Strake Jesuit Art Museum		Houston	Harris	Part of Strake Jesuit College Preparatory	[127]
Sylvan Beach Depot Museum and Library		La Porte	Harris	Operated by the La Porte Heritage Society	[128]
Tomball Museum Center		Tomball	Harris	Operated by the Spring Creek County Historical Association	[129]
USS Texas		La Porte	Harris	Battleship, part of San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, National Register Listing	[130]

Liberty - Montgomery counties

List of museums in the Liberty - Montgomery counties

Museum name	Image	City	County	Notes	Refs
Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center		Liberty	Liberty	Includes changing exhibits of South Texas history from its collections and two historic house museums	[131]
City By the Sea Museum		Palacios	Matagorda	Museum of the Palacios Area Historical Association, exhibits include Camp Hulen, fishing, ships, agriculture, Hurricane Carla, Karankawa Indians	[132]
Matagorda County Museum		Bay City	Matagorda	Bay City's first post office, displays of historical artifacts	[133]
Fernland Historical Park		Montgomery	Montgomery	City park with early Texas frontier architecture	[134]
Footprints in Courage Museum		Shenandoah	Montgomery	Located inside the Shenandoah Visitors Center	[135]
Heritage Museum of Montgomery County, Texas		Conroe	Montgomery	Child-friendly and handicap accessible	[136]
Magnolia Depot Museum		Magnolia	Montgomery	Built in 1902 by the International and Great Northern Railroad	[137]
N.H. Davis Pioneer Complex and Museum		Montgomery	Montgomery	Replica of the original sketch of the Lone Star Flag and Republic of Texas seal, drawn by Republic political leader Charles Bellinger Stewart	[138]
Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center		Liberty	Montgomery	Memorabilia related to Sam Houston, 110-acre complex. Includes the home of formerTexas Governor Price Daniel and his wife Jean Houston Baldwin, a direct descendant of Sam Houston	[139]
Texas Flag Park		Conroe	Montgomery	aka Lone Star Monument and Historical Flag Park	[140]
The Woodlands Children's Museum		Woodlands	Montgomery	Children's	[141]

Wharton county

List of museums in the Wharton county

Museum name	Image	City	County	Notes	Refs
20th Century Technology Museum		Wharton	Wharton	Wide variety	[142]
Danish Heritage Museum of Danevang		Danevang	Wharton	Exhibits related to the everyday lives of the Danish pioneer settlers of Danevang	[143]
Egypt Plantation Museum		Egypt	Wharton	Empire period house, also includes depot museum with ranching heritage and plantation life displays, and Texas history	[144]
El Campo Museum of Natural History		El Campo	Wharton	Started in 1978 by E. A. Weinheimer	[145]
Wharton County Historical Museum		Wharton	Wharton	History, culture, and traditions of the county	[146]

Defunct museums

• Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum, Houston, closed in 2012^[147]
• Forbidden Gardens, Katy, closed in 2011
• Geraldine D. Humphreys Museum, Liberty, closed in 1984^[148]
• Gulf Coast Archive and Museum, Houston, archive still open by appointment but museum is closed^[149]
• Samuel May Williams House, Galveston, closed in 2007
• Tate-Senftenberg-Brandon House, Columbus, closed in 2006^[150]

See also

• Texas portal

• Museum District, Houston, Texas
• List of museums in Texas
• List of museums in East Texas
• List of museums in Central Texas
• List of museums in North Texas
• List of museums in the Texas Panhandle
• List of museums in South Texas
• List of museums in West Texas

Resources

• Texas Association of Museums
• Historic House Museums in Texas