Current Exhibits

Traveling Exhibit

Backstage Pass: The Early Years of Rolling Stone
June 15 - August 11

Immortalized by writers, filmmakers, and musicians from Stephen King to Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, the cover of Rolling Stone magazine has embodied generations of popular culture. For artists, the cover is a coveted career achievement, and for many readers, it represents a fantasy realm of the rock-n-roll lifestyle. In the 1960s and 70s, Rolling Stone provided a national voice to the counter-culture movement, and gave readers unprecedented access to musicians before the days of personal branding. Backstage Pass: The Early Years of Rolling Stone explores how the lens of one artist’s camera captured and helped define one of the most important eras in rock-n-roll history.

Learn about the history of Rolling Stone magazine and view a collection of Little Joe y la Familia artifacts. Hailing from Temple, Texas, Little Joe Hernandez pioneered a new brand of Tejano music from the latter 20th century to the present. Come see Grammy Awards, Gold Records, musical instruments, and photos that memorialize the historic career of this Bell County icon!

Permanent Display

Passport Through Time

Housed in our historic 1904 Carnegie Library, this exhibit guides visitors through the unique and varied history of Bell County.

Passport Through Time examines the historical journey of Bell County by focusing on its people, places, and historical events. The exhibit portrays Bell County's unique place in Texas history, and its close relationship to the early peoples of Central Texas, rugged spirit of the West, and links to state and national history.

Passport Through Time was awarded a Certificate of Commendation from the American Association for State and Local History.

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The Gault Site: A Wealth of New Archaeological Evidence

This permanent exhibit includes large murals, discovery drawers, microscopes and the film, "The Gault Project: An Adventure in Time," funded by the Texas Historical Foundation.

The Gault Site has been home to human beings for over 13,000 years. It is strategically located in the Balcones Ecotone, the boundary zone of the Edwards Plateau and the Black Prairie/Coastal Plain Ecozone. The analysis of materials at the Gault Site provides archaeologists with a unique look into the lifestyles of the earliest people in Texas and, by extension, the earliest peoples in the Americas.

This exhibit also features an interactive dig pit, chalkboard for cave drawings, discovery drawers, and more!

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Little River Log Cabin

The Little River Log Cabin was built in the 1850s near Little River/Academy, the area of earliest Anglo settlement in Bell County. The cabin features half-dovetail notching, and was originally a “single-pen,” or one-room house, with side-facing gables.

In 1995, Grant and Jeanny Smith purchased the cabin and had it dismantled by Salado artist Lonnie Edwards. In 2001, the Smiths donated the cabin to the Bell County Museum.

The cabin is not the original size, nor are all of the stones and logs placed in their original positions. However, the logs and stones are original to the 1850s cabin. It can be seen from the museum exterior, or by tour groups. Ask staff about scheduling a tour!