South Texas Museum and Jim Wells County Fair Unite Community Through History and Tradition

Through the double-copper doors of the historic McGill Brothers building in downtown Alice, the ranching saddles, Civil War firearms, and hundred-year-old typewriters of South Texas history sit preserved in silence. Twelve miles of county road away, each October, the Jim Wells County Fairgrounds fill with livestock pens, food trucks, carnival lights, and the particular noise of 4-H and FFA kids who have been preparing all year. The two institutions occupy different calendars but the same civic purpose: keeping Jim Wells County connected to where it came from.

The South Texas Museum was chartered in 1973, when a group of Alice citizens secured a non-profit 501(c)(3) designation from the State of Texas. Two years later, the heirs of the McGill family donated the McGill Bros. ranch headquarters building in downtown Alice to house it. The collections that now fill those rooms span an uncommonly wide range: Civil War era weapons, antique dolls, 1850 and 1908 saddles, butter churns, arrowheads, mounted trophy animal heads, and office furniture from the 1880s. The archives run deeper still, holding extensive photo, document, and newspaper file collections covering Jim Wells County, the City of Alice, Alice Schools, the Tex-Mex Railroad, early agribusiness and ranching, the early oil and gas industry, both World Wars, and histories of early families. The archive also holds 185 Civil War books and other reference materials. All original documents and photos can be copied for researchers, and the museum charges no fees for guided tours or lectures.

Each October, the Jim Wells County Fairgrounds become the county's most densely populated intersection of agriculture, competition, and community. The 86th annual Jim Wells County Fair drew exhibitors from across the county, with 4-H and FFA members bringing pigs, turkeys, goats, and heifers to show alongside horses judged on handling and body mass. The annual costume contest added a lighter note to the competition schedule, and the fairgrounds hosted a full carnival, food trucks, arts and crafts exhibits, and dozens of merchants alongside the livestock rings.

For Kinleigh Carr, the fair is not a novelty. She has shown horses and other animals since she was five years old, and her entry, Missy, competed in the costume contest dressed as country Barbie. "I, definitely, think I learn a lot of responsibility and a lot of patience," Kinleigh said. "Ultimately, my favorite part is getting to be in the ring and being around all the people out here and I think it's an amazing environment to be around." Her family supports her preparation and animal care throughout the year, as do the families of most exhibitors.

The Pool brothers, Wesleigh, Ethan and Grayson, arrived at the fair from their twelve-acre ranch with parents, friends, and a growing list of competition categories that now includes goats, heifers, food shows, and archery. "It was kind of, one of those things, that we wanted to show animals and we started doing more and more things," Wesleigh said. "Now, it's one of the biggest things we do." Wesleigh has his eyes beyond the fairgrounds as well. "My future career, I'd like to go to A&M and study wildlife management and hopefully end up managing wildlife someday, down the road," he said.

Alice, population 19,682, serves as the county seat for Jim Wells County's 845 square miles of Rio Grande Plain terrain. The county stretches west of Corpus Christi along U.S. Highway 281, bordered by Live Oak and San Patricio counties to the north and Duval County to the west. Communities including Premont, Rancho Alegre, Orange Grove, and Sandia all feed into the county's civic life, much of which flows through Alice. The city's annual calendar includes the Tejano Roots Hall of Fame Induction in January, the Cinco de Mayo Festival, the Jim Wells County Fair Parade and Rodeo in October, and a December Christmas Parade, among others.

The museum preserves what earlier generations of Jim Wells County residents built and endured. The fair gives the current generation a ring to compete in and a reason to return next year.