Cowgirls’ home in Cowtown
by Diana De Leon, reporter

    For three days, Fort Worth celebrated the opening of its newest museum, the National Cowgirl Museum.

   Festivities included a concert, parade, ribbon cutting ceremony and chance for members and press to experience the museum in the city’s Cultural District.

   “It was overwhelming,” Margaret Formby, museum founder, said.

   Formby started the museum in 1975 in the basement of the Deaf Smith County Library in Hereford, to honor female rodeo champions and western heroines.

   Formby described the museum in Hereford as her baby, but for it to endure, it had to move because of growth.

   Major cities from all over the west expressed interest, but the two finalists were both in Texas.

   Abilene lost the museum to Fort Worth, and in 1994 the museum moved to Cowtown.

   The new permanent home of the museum is a 33,000–square-foot, two-story brick, stone and terra cotta building that cost $21 million to complete.

   A 45-foot high domed rotunda that is home to the Hall of Fame honoree exhibits dominates the museum’s interior.

   The museum includes three gallery areas, a multi-purpose theater, research library, catering area, a flexible exhibit space, gift shop and a hands-on children’s area.

   “It was quite an experience when I walked into a real full-grown child,” Formby said. “I wanted to cry, laugh, holler and scream; it was overwhelming.”

   The Fort Worth board of directors determined the common thread of the cowgirl is her spirit. Thus, resulting in artists, movie stars, rodeo champions, singers, ranchers and Sacagawea can all be considered cowgirls.

   Gallery one honors the rodeo cowgirl with artifacts from Wild West shows and rodeo memorabilia.

   Gallery Two includes early cowgirl gear and personal photographs of ranchers.

   Gallery three focuses on the cowgirl’s influence on popular culture. Here visitors can view images of Dale Evans, Pasty Cline and Jessie from Toy Story 2.

   “We have a research chairman and staff and a library,” Formby said, “It’s a two-part museum.”

   The museum is state-of-the-art with touch screens throughout the galleries. Visitors can touch a button and an image appears on a small translucent wall.

   “I am glad that my baby grew up to be such a wonderful and beautiful big girl,” Formby said.

   Closed Mondays and holidays, the museum opens at 10 a.m. Tuesday-Saturday and at noon Sunday. Admission is $6 for adults.