Salado Museum and College Park is celebrating its 60th Anniversary with an Open House on Saturday, September 21, from 10am to 4pm, at 423 South Main in Salado. The public is invited to stop by to enjoy refreshments, music and fellowship and to share their memories of the museum over the past six decades.
The celebration will continue that evening with a special reception during which the museum’s Hall of Clans will be renamed to honor the museum’s founder, Mrs. Lucile A. Robertson. Members of Mrs. Robertson’s family, Salado Mayor Skip Blancett, and other special guests will participate in a ceremony dedicating the building as The Lucile A. Robertson Center.
“The people of Salado owe a huge debt of gratitude to Lucile Robertson. It was her vision and determination that saved the ruins of Salado College and many artifacts of Salado pioneers,” says Dave Swarthout, Salado Museum Executive Director. “She was an inspiration, a driving force and a guiding light who made a real difference to this community.”
The museum opened in 1959 as the Central Texas Area Museum. Mrs. Robertson served as its executive director from its inception until her death in 1997. The museum became Salado Museum and College Park in 2017 when it merged with the Robertson Colony-Salado College Foundation. Mrs. Robertson also founded the annual Gathering of the Scottish Clans in Salado in 1961 which celebrates its 58th year this November and is the oldest Scottish festival in Texas.
Mrs. Robertson’s husband was a direct descendant of Major Sterling C. Robertson, an empresario whose land grants brought hundreds of families to settle in this area, and his son, Col. E.S.C. Robertson, who donated 100 acres of land to establish Salado College and the town of Salado.
The Salado Museum and College Park, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, celebrates 60 years preserving and promoting the pioneer history of Salado, Texas. The museum tells the story of this frontier college town through educational programs and exhibits that document its settlement and heritage. The Museum is located at 423 South Main Street in Salado. College Park, where visitors can view the ruins of Salado College built in 1860, is located just south of the museum.