billy the kid museum

Joe, my Boxer, didn't want to stay in the car any longer, so I took him for a walk around the historic downtown area of Hico and then into the museum. The ladies who run the place greeted him and immediately offered to take care of him while I toured the museum. Sue Land, CEO, and Jane Klein, Historian, are friendly and knowledgeable and very confident around fairly big dogs. My Joe is about 80 pounds; their dogs are larger. The museum comprises two rooms. The front room is an impressive collection of local and military historical artifacts; the back room is dedicated to Billy the Kid and things that he might have known, including the original Hico jail cell with its four bunks. Photographs, newspaper articles and a collection of guns serve to illustrate Billy's story, whether as the Kid or as Brushy. There are two photographs hanging side-by-side. One is of Billy the Kid as a young man. The other is of Brushy Bill Roberts as an older man. They certainly do look like the same man and now, I'd have to agree that they are one and the same man at different times of life. I have been to the Billy the Kid Museum in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, and there is strong evidence that Billy was there when he was young. There is even a grave marker for him. However, there is equally strong evidence that he died in Hico, when Brushy Bill had a heart attack. It was a fun and interesting stop, and you should go check it out for yourself. I highly recommend it! They do not charge admission but they do accept donations.

Visitors center and museum, a wealth of history and fact. Hico is the town where Brushy Bill lived and died. The story is as great as the west. Sue is a gracious host, her staff wonderfully friendly. If you have interest in the old west this is a must.

It is a small but fun little museum and it is worth the drive to have some fun with the legend of Billy The Kid and Brushy Bill Roberts. Weather you say yea or ney it will be a nice trip.

The Billy the Kid Museum is a combination of the Town of Hico history museum and the Billy the Kid museum. What does Hico, TX have to do with Billy the Kid, you say? Local legend says that Billy the Kid was not killed by Pat Garrett, but escaped death and landed in Hico under the alias of Brushy Bill Roberts, who died in the 1950's on the streets of Hico of a heart attack. The museum has news articles and presents evidence for you to decide for yourself. The museum also houses the original Hico City Jail that contains four bunks.

In Hico you get a sense of what rural Texas was like when the railways came and opened up the State, interesting BTK atrefacts

There is not much to see there. They have limited hours and sometimes are not open when it is listed to be open. The small dusty area needs some upkeep and displays need work also.

The museum curator examplified true southern hospitality in this museum honoring Billy the Kid along with a tribute of Hico. I join Hico in hoping Billy found the pardon he was seeking in this life. I believe he was a young man naive in knowing how to survive in a challenging environment and who in his later life developed those skills. May his soul rest in peace.

Built on pure speculation, the Billy the Kid Museum is a fun place to spend a few minutes. The idea that Billy the kid actually lived here is a very romantic notion...

loved the museum,have been there six times,but some of the important artifacts have gone missing,etc.the photo of pat garrets son.

Its' called the Billy the Kid Museum but there is much more to it than just Billy. In fact Billy seems to be just a small piece of the whole thing. Founded in 1953 the museum is now operated by the founder's son who has been retired from the railroad for a number of years. I found the most interesting part of the museum to be the museum and the history of the museum itself and it's owner. Parked outside of the museum on the day I visited was an all origional 1953 Willeys sedan. I had never seen one before. The owner told me that his dad purchased the car 17 days after opening the museum in 1953. It has been driven to the museum almost every day since then. Now Fort Sumner is really small, so the car now only has 44,000 miles on it. There are many more antique cars inside.The whole thing is like a time capsule from 1958. Worth the stop if your are passing through Fort Summer.A true piece of Americana!