A walk through the Doss Heritage and Culture Center is like traveling through time. When you go through the front doors, you enter a world of imagination and wonder, a place where education and history are combined.
The Doss Center, as many know it, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Since its opening in 2006, the Doss Center has brought a plethora of exhibits, programs and community events to Weatherford and Parker County.
Among their current exhibits is one depicting the origins and milestones of the center, also serving as a way of saying thanks to the many local citizens who made it possible.
The Doss Center serves between 20,000 and 25,000 patrons each year, according to Collections Manager Paige Baker.
The annual Pioneer Heritage Fest, which is taking place Oct. 3, brought about 400 visitors from out of state and 60 visitors from other countries to Parker County last year.
Baker is also the driving force behind the magic that makes Doss so great, said Director of Development Lorraine Crutcher.
“These exhibits are all because of Paige. When I see what she’s put on the panels, I’m amazed,” Crutcher said. “Everything we do is a passion to keep this history alive, and it shows in every exhibit Paige does.
“The more you understand history, the more gratitude you have for your life today,” Crutcher said.
While the Doss Center itself is only 20 years old, what it stands for expands decades. Preserving Parker County’s past has long been a top priority for many of the folks who call the county home.
“The Doss Heritage Center is many things to many different people. It provides much-needed historical information about life in the past, including the log cabin village with homes of former area residents, helping visitors understand what life was like long ago,” said Jo-Alice Davis of the Parker County Historical Society. “My favorite exhibit is the permanent Mary Martin exhibit, which celebrates Weatherford’s own ‘star’ and her remarkable contributions to the world of entertainment. I also enjoy learning about other past Parker County residents and the important roles they played in shaping our community.
“Another favorite is the outdoor area, which features large ‘musical instruments’ made from wood and other unusual objects that encourage visitors of all ages to interact.”
G.A. Holland operated the Log Cabin Museum. In the 1930s, he selected the McClesky and Waggoner cabins for his preservation project, relocating them from their original sites to Holland Lake Park, where he joined them into one double-log cabin.
Those cabins are now located at Pioneer Cabin Park.
For several years, this was the only museum space in Weatherford. And while it served its purpose well, it closed (the actual closing date is uncertain) and many of the items were returned to their original owners, while some were left in the cabins.
It wasn’t until the 1990s when the Heritage Gallery took the role as leaders in putting the county’s history back in front of the public at the Weatherford Public Library. The first exhibit in 1993 highlighted the art of Douglas Chandor and the costume designs of Mary Martin.
However, as the collection began to grow, space became even tighter and it became clear that a larger area was in great need. So, plans began for what was to become the James and Dorothy Doss Heritage and Culture Center.
And so began what is now one of the more renowned cultural centers in the state. Since its opening, many visitors have come through the doors to see a vast assortment of exhibits.
“According to our longest serving staff member, the first significant exhibit with consistent and large attendance numbers was ‘Antique Buttons: Miniature Works of Art,’ held with the assistance of the Texas State Button Society in March of 2010,” Baker said. “Since then, the Doss has had many exhibits highlighting a variety of subjects, all well attended.”
In January 2001, the City of Weatherford agreed to endorse the plans for the proposed Doss Center. A resolution not only endorsed the new project, but allowed the Doss to secure the title and transfer of the city’s historical collection — the Heritage Gallery collection.
Land was acquired from Weatherford College and design plans were drawn for the new museum’s structure.
In June 2005, a groundbreaking ceremony was held. Fittingly to the historical significance, a mule-drawn plow did the honors. The architectural firm chosen for the project was Hahnfeld Hoffer Stanford, who was known for creating several structures within the Fort Worth Botanic Garden complex.
By August 2006 the Doss Heritage and Culture Center was a reality. Not only was it an immediate hit with locals, but it was recognized throughout the state and was even named “Best Public Space in Texas in 2006” by “Texas Construction” magazine.
An official ribbon-cutting and grand opening was held Aug. 26, 200, with honorary ribbon-cutters, the now late Dorothy Doss and Larry Hagman, taking part in the festivities.
Hagman’s statue stands outside the Doss Center today, welcoming visitors and reminding them of his own ties to Weatherford. Throughout his legendary career in TV and film, which included playing one of the most notorious characters in entertainment history, J.R. Ewing in the TV series “Dallas” from 1978-91, he never forgot where he came from.
His mother, Mary Martin, was the original Peter Pan on Broadway and a Weatherford resident, whose statue stands outside the library. Larry attended Weatherford High School and spent much of his younger life in the city.
The Hagaman statue was unveiled Sept. 21, 2014, (Hagman’s birthday). It was attended by his children and his sister, Heller Halliday. The statue itself is life-sized and was created by Artist Kelly Graham.
Graham had been featured previously in one of the Doss Center’s western art shows. He is also the creator of other such works of art that include the Coyote statue in the traffic circle near Weatherford College.
Over its history, the Doss Center has hosted exhibits that have primarily highlighted people, places, and subjects that relate in some way to Parker County. In recent years, this has included:
• A military exhibit that broadly examined America’s war engagements, but also highlighted specific Parker County individuals. This was done with much assistance from the local American Legion.
In the current 20th Anniversary exhibit there is a wall that shows many of the museum’s past exhibits/exhibit subjects.
“That history needs to be remembered and honored, and that same spirit needs to be fostered in the next generation. This is our purpose,” Baker said.
Former Weatherford resident Eddie Myers, who now lives in Granbury, dropped in to make a contribution to the Doss. He was donating his grandfather R.N. Johnson’s Bible.
“This is a wonderful place,” he said. “My grandfather came to Parker County in 1855. He traded a team of oxen for that family Bible.”
The Doss Center’s biggest event and most significant each year is its annual Pioneer Heritage Fest. This is a free community event hosted the first Saturday in October from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This year will be the ninth year the Doss Center will host this festival, which draws an average crowd of about 2,000.
“This year is particularly special because we are also incorporating some exciting elements to commemorate the Doss Heritage and Culture Center’s 20th anniversary,” Crutcher said. “It’s a chance for families to experience some of the traditions, skills, music and stories that are part of our heritage in a really fun, hands-on way. We want people to do more than just learn about history — we want them to experience it.”
Among the activities, visitors can make butter, dip candles, hear live music, see the State Herd from Fort Griffin, and watch chuckwagon cooking by the 2026 Parker County Sheriff’s Posse Ranch Rodeo Chuckwagon Cookoff champions. There will also be historical re-enactors and costumed historical interpreters throughout the grounds helping bring the history of Texas and Parker County to life.
Doss Board of Directors member Calvin Allen played a key role in bringing the re-enactors to the event, along with an authentic cannon.
“I’m about our history, mostly our southern history,” Allen said. “There’s more to our heritage than cowboys and indians.”
The Doss Center has also hosted annual western art shows and western music concerts, including the Sons of the Pioneers and other musical artists connected with the Western Music Association.
Crutcher said one of the most impactful events in the center’s history involved popular country/western singer Michael Martin Murphy, who is also a member of the Doss Center board. His 80th birthday celebration last year brought musicians, poets, historians and guests from across North America, including Northern Cheyenne Chief Philip Whiteman.
“It was a really special gathering of people, history, music and culture, and one of those moments that demonstrated how the Doss can bring people together to celebrate and preserve the stories and traditions of the American West,” Crutcher said.
In addition to these adult events, the museum hosts children’s activities weekly, monthly, and annually, including annual Summer Camps. The Doss also works with other nonprofit organizations by providing meeting and event space.
“We could not do without the Doss’s support in selling tickets for several weeks before our annual Candlelight Tour and being open during the tour on the second Saturday in December,” Davis said, calling the Doss “both a guardian of local history and an invaluable resource for Parker County.”
“Tools of the Trade: Building the West by Hand” — Trades have existed since the beginning of humanity and the trades person’s crafts have involved a range of materials from woods to metals to textiles to leather, and beyond. A few of the objects displayed in this exhibit include blacksmithing items from Parker County blacksmiths Obadiah Wingo and Guy Oliver.
“Goodbye to a Prairie” — This exhibit explores the new book of the same name by Mary Lane Garmon, slated to be released in 2027. Garmon, daughter of the late Homer Norris of Aledo, revisits the work of her father, “The Parker County Prairie Sketchbook,” delving deeper into the details of his research, writings, and the lasting relationships he forged throughout his lifetime and career.
Items of interest include objects created and collected by Norris over his lifetime of documenting the prairie, such as a mammoth tusk and tooth, bison remains, arrowheads, bird’s nests and fossils, as well as some items relating to some of the people Homer knew who lived on the prairie.
Crutcher said the Doss Center is exploring the possibility of adding a fifth historic cabin to Pioneer Cabin Park.
“We look forward to visiting with the City of Weatherford about the future of the historic cabin currently located at Holland Lake Park and exploring how the Doss might play a role in preserving it for future generations,” she said. “Our historic cabins are an important part of how we tell Parker County’s story, so we are excited about the possibilities and what this could mean for the future of Pioneer Cabin Park.”
The Doss is a nonprofit organization, and its funding comes from a combination of private donations, memberships, community support and sponsorships, private grants, and state-funded grants, Crutcher noted.
“We are very fortunate to have a community that believes in the importance of preserving and sharing Parker County and Texas history, and that support makes much of what we do possible,” she said.
Donations can be made when visiting or through the website at https://dosscenter.org/.
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