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Annie Riggs Museum • Treasure of Pecos County The Annie Riggs Memorial Museum still keeps house with the past amid exhibits echoing yesteryear in Pecos County. It is owned and operated by the Fort Stockton Historical Society. The Museum is housed in an original adobe structure that was the Riggs Hotel (built 1899) where Annie Riggs was the proprietor until her death in 1931. Riggs purchased the hotel in 1904 with the proceeds from the estate of her late husband, the renowned gunslinger and all around troublemaker, Barney Riggs, who was shot and killed by Buck Chadborn (Annie’s son-in-law) in 1902. Hanging on the wall are Annie’s House Rules addressing guests with no luggage, spitting on the floor and the “burning of light” unnecessarily. In the lobby, a stern-faced lineage of sheriffs gaze down at visitors. The desk from Sheriff A.J. Royal’s office whispers of his 1894 murder, a bloody chapter in the history of Pecos County. On the desk is a 1902 ballot box from Sheffield, which was fished out of the Pecos River after being tossed there when the folks in East Pecos County objected to an election that didn’t suit them. The parlor, dining room, kitchen and one guest room are furnished much as they were during the hotel’s heyday. The
cast iron bed in the guest room was ordered from Sears and Roebuck in 1900 for a cost of $6.75, including freight. Other rooms offer displays on the area’s vast and diversified history. The Archeology and Geology Room exhibits the tusks of a Columbian mammoth and related artifacts found at a site eight miles from town. Visitors learn of geologic formations and come to understand why this area has plentiful oil and gas resources. The Butz Room features a Wells Fargo strong box made of cast iron and the safe from Koehler’s Store with its hidden keyhole. The popular Cowboy Room features local cowboy and ranching exhibits with saddles, boots, bits and spurs. The Pioneer Room includes memorabilia from pioneering families, such as turn-of-the-century clothing, heirloom items and surveying instruments. The Temporary Exhibit Room has an excellent, colorful and informative mural of Pecos County history by artist Stylle Read. A Pecos County video is available for leisurely viewing. The Hispanic room
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Photos courtesy Fort Stockton CVB.
includes needlework and cultural displays. Visitors can also experience a thriving desert garden, inviting benches on the wrap-around porches and a charming interior courtyard with a restored Pecos County buggy. The Summer Off The Patio concert series features country and folk music performances every other Thursday evening during the summer months. Concerts are free and visitors welcome. The Annie Riggs Memorial Museum is open six days a week and is located at the corner of Main and Callaghan in Historic Downtown Fort Stockton. Text courtesy of the Fort Stockton Historical Society.
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800.336.2166 • www.fortstockton.info • FORT STOCKTON Community Guide 23