Salado Museum and College Park is celebrating its 65th Anniversary with an Open House on Thursday, June 20, beginning at 4:30pm, at 423 South Main in Salado. The community is invited to stop by to enjoy refreshments, music and fellowship and to share their memories of the museum over the past 65 years.
The celebration will continue at 6:00pm with a special program about the early days of the museum and the history of Salado that will include music, videos and storytelling. The main museum exhibit room will be open for visitors to enjoy.
Refreshments will be served and the program will take place in The Lucile A. Robertson Center, named for the museum’s founder. Members of Mrs. Robertson’s family and Salado city officials will be in attendance to greet and visit with guests.
“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 Lynette McCain-Jones, Salado Museum Executive Director. “She was an inspiration, a guiding light and a driving force who made a tangible 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 63rd 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.