News and Events - November 2021 | Museum of North Texas History

November 2021

News and Events from

The Museum of North Texas History

MUSEUM OF NORTH TEXAS HISTORY

DIRECTOR'S LETTER

Dear Members,

We hope that you were able to attend the Downtown Trick or Treat Event! The Museum participated and we had so much fun! A big thank you goes to the Rider Baseball team for helping us hand out our Halloween treats.

The Heart of Downtown Model Train Exhibit is OPEN! The exhibit is open at 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 2:30 PM. The trains run for about 45 minutes and it is come and go. We hope you can stop by and see this amazing model train exhibit. This year we are featuring artwork by local photographer, Simon Welch. We are excited to partner with local artists this year for the Heart of Downtown Model Train Exhibit

Join us on Saturday, December 4, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM for MoNTH’s Merry Museum Christmas. We are excited to offer a fun, free, family-friendly event! We will have cookies, hot chocolate, holidays crafts, model trains, and more.

Stop by the Museum this holiday season! We have so much to offer!

Madeleine

HEART OF DOWNTOWN MODEL TRAIN EXHIBIT

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Local photographer/artist, Simon Welch, prepares his photos for the exhibit displayed during the Heart of Downtown Model Train Exhibit.

"Heart of Downtown" Model Train Exhibit Returns to Museum Of North Texas History

See the story here.

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Current C.D.C. Mask Guidelines

AN EARLY HOLIDAY WISH

Bit of History

Each month we will highlight "bits" of North Texas history.

THE HOMES OF JOSEPH AND FLORA KEMP

Lynn Walker recently was researching a story for the Wichita Falls Times Record News on the houses of Joseph Kemp. (Here is the link to his story.) https://www.facebook.com/TimesRecordNews/posts/10158167429516821

His call to the Wichita County Archives for information sent us to the shelves to find information. Mr. Walker’s article told some about the homes in Wichita Falls of Joseph and Flora Kemp. Here is the rest of the story for this “Bit of History.”

Flora Ann Anderson Kemp

Affectionately referred to as the First Lady of Wichita Falls, Flora Ann Anderson Kemp was known for her friendly demeanor, determination, and her dedication to family and the Wichita Falls community. Born in Clifton, Texas in 1861 to Allen and Mary Robison Anderson, Flora married her hometown sweetheart, Joseph Alexander Kemp.

Joseph Alexander Kemp

Joseph Alexander Kemp was a visionary and entrepreneur whose business and civic activities were vital to the development of Wichita Falls. Kemp was born in Clifton (Bosque Co.), where he opened his first store at the age of eighteen. He married Flora Anderson in 1882 and they moved to Wichita Falls in 1883, where he partnered in a general mercantile store, later opening a wholesale grocery. The couple raised five children.

Joseph A. Kemp arrived in Wichita Falls in 1883 from Clifton, Texas. Kemp’s father had a grocery store in and Joseph had worked in the store. Kemp established a small store on Ohio near Eighth Street. This photo shows the store and warehouse, built in 1892, near the Downtown Farmers’ Market. The location is also honored with a Texas Historical Marker.

We don't have a picture of the Kemps' first home in Wichita Falls.

The Kemp Wholesale Grocery - Texas Historical Marker

Mr. and Mrs. Kemp’s second Wichita Falls home was 1200 Indiana. The Kemps lived here until 1912. The house was bought by a group of businessmen and used as a dormitory for teachers, charged according to their pay.

The second picture is current 1200 Indiana.

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The third and final Kemp home was at 906 Grant, in the Morningside Addition. The house faced onto 10th Street. Across 10th became the home of the Kemps’ daughter, Sybil, and her husband, W. Newton Maer.

Joseph Kemp passed away in 1930. Flora Kemp lived in the Grant Street house until 1946-1947. The house was sold to Dr. Ted Alexander who used the house as a clinic/hospital.

The house was demolished in 1960 to make way for an apartment complex, pictured here.

Mrs. Kemp moved to 1814 Huff in 1946-1947.

This information came from the Wichita Falls City directories (searchable by who lives at an address and the address), Mary Kearby’s Pioneers Remember, Louise Kelly’s Wichita County Beginnings, and the website, Newspaper Archives.

The historic photos are property of the Wichita County Texas Archives. Some are from the Wichita Falls Times Record News collection, found in the Wichita County Texas Archives