The Bryan Museum
Bryan Museum Civil War Credit Galveston Island CVB
Located in the historic Galveston Orphans Home, the Bryan Museum houses one of the world's largest collections of historic artifacts, documents, and artwork relating to Texas and the American West. This museum first opened in 2015 with the help of the founder and namesake, JP Bryan, who began his collection at the young age of 9 years old.
Bryan started with a Moore's Patent Front Loading Revolver and a Sharps Patent Four Barrel Derringer, two items you can still see in the museum today. From there he collected rare books, Texas literature, and any other Texas/American West artifact he could get his hands on, growing the collection into what you see today, with over 70,000 items total. The artifacts span a history of 12,000 years, with 'pieces ranging from ancient Native American cultural artifacts to modern 21st-century objects'. See over 20,000 rare books, 30,000 documents, over 250 firearms, and many pieces of folk art, rare maps, arrowheads, chaps, and more. The collection is presented as 'a chronological history of Texas and the American West with a special emphasis on Spanish influences in the region.' Your group will be able to explore the following exhibits with a self-guided tour;
- Orientation Gallery
- Spanish Colonial Era
- Texas Frontier
- Statehood and Beyond
- Rest of the West
- Texas Masters
- More
Field trip groups will have extra special sensory experiences and immersive activities available to them, with options like Adventures in Texas History, Trailblazing Texas History, Manifest Destiny, Texas Ranger Hunt, Garden Hunt, and more. There are group and public tours available upon request as well.
Bryan Museum Front Credit Galveston Island CVB
