557 Old Hwy 20
PO Box 621
McDade TX 78650
Facebook: McDade Historical Society
The McDade Historical Society Museum is housed in an 1873 saloon and stagecoach stop. Outlaws like Sam Bass, Johnny Ringo, John Wesley Hardin and Wild Bill Longley frequented the saloon, along with a bevy of gamblers intent on fleecing railroad workers and unsuspecting strangers of their money. The museum celebrates its Wild West boomtown history along with other highlights of the area, including a large pottery collection from the many local potteries that thrived in the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries, along with a display of the highly collectable “Jackson chairs” made in nearby Blue.
They are open every Saturday from 1-4 p.m. Tours can be set up at specific times by calling (512) 273-5151. Admission is free.
Their mission is to preserve McDade history, but they are also involved in community outreach, sponsoring events like Santa for the Kids, Trunk or Treat, and photos and presents at Easter. Historical Society meetings are held on the fourth Monday of the month at 7 p.m. in the barroom annex next door to the museum.
The Captain Jesse Billingsley Memorial sits catacorner across the street from the museum. Capt. Billingsley, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, spent his last years in McDade. He was reportedly the first man to yell “Remember the Alamo!”
Old West History of McDade
McDade’s 150th Anniversary Celebration Reenactment Video “Blood in the Streets” (16:32 min) “Blood in the Streets,” produced and directed by Vicky J. Rose, reenacts the events leading up to and culminating in McDade’s infamous 1883 Christmas Eve hanging and the Notch-cutters vs Vigilantes 1883 Christmas Day Shootout in McDade, Texas.
