The Museum is home, therefore, to the long term Austin Colony Exhibit, which opened in October, 1993, on the eve of Stephen F. Austin's 200th birthday (November 3, 1793). This is the first fully definitive exhibition ever mounted on the Colonial period of Texas history. Sixty-eight panels displayed over 2400 square feet of the renovated 23rd District Courtroom, provide the visitor with a clear and concise chronology, depicting the chain of events from the earliest Anglo-American penetration to full Texas Independence.
The exhibit includes replicas of lost weapons and tools from prehistoric times to 1836; artifacts of daily life; rare books and documents; letters from early colonists; and a newly sculptured bust and oil painting of the father of Texas, Stephen F. Austin.