A White Settlement museum claiming to have the largest collection of Civil War artifacts west of the Mississippi will close next month.
Why it matters: The 15,000-square-foot Texas Civil War Museum was often criticized for being partial to the Confederacy, showcasing artifacts from the United Daughters of the Confederacy and not mentioning slavery much.
The big picture: Oilman Ray Richey collected Civil War artifacts with his wife, Judy, for decades before opening the museum in 2006.
- He has said the museum is not pro-Confederacy. It “does not swing one way or the other, and that’s the way I’ve wanted it since day one.”
- The collection includes sabers belonging to generals on both sides, as well as Texas regimental flags, uniforms, musical instruments and medical tools.
Between the lines: Texas declared independence from the Union and joined the Confederacy in 1861, siding with other slave-holding states.
- Texas still displays public symbols of the Confederacy — including more than a dozen monuments, markers and portraits at the state Capitol — and observes Confederate Heroes Day, which has long been criticized as a celebration of white supremacists and slaveowners.
- Some North Texas homeowners also display the Confederate battle flag on their property.
The latest: The museum is closing on Oct. 31 because Richey has decided to retire, sales director Dennis Partrich tells Axios. The building has been sold.
- “This is a private museum, so it’s been the labor of love of one man over the years. He’s of the age now that he’s decided this is it,” Partrich says.
The intrigue: The museum was on the brink of closure last year but stayed open after its board decided to increase admission fees and sell some of its most valuable artifacts, per the Star-Telegram.
- Partrich says the museum will close for good this time. Since the closure was announced last month, visitors have increased fivefold, he said.
Flashback: The city of Dallas considered lending the museum a Robert E. Lee statue that was removed from a park in 2017, but city staff decided it would be inappropriate to do so…