Whitehead Memorial Museum — Attraction in Del Rio

This is an eclectic museum focusing on the history and culture of Del Rio. It sits on a little more than 2 acres and has 15+ buildings and plenty of other outdoor exhibits.

There's a small gift shop in a historic building that you walk through when you first arrive and from what I recall, it was $5 per person to wander the grounds. Be warned, all the buildings are separate, so there is a little bit of outdoor time walking between the buildings, but they really aren’t far apart from one another. Some of the buildings are air conditioned while some of the smaller ones are not – but you don’t spend a lot of time in the smaller ones since there isn’t a lot to see in them.

There's a replica of the Jersey Lilly (Judge Roy Bean’s place in Langtry, TX), an old railroad caboose that you can walk through, an old fire truck, and plenty of history about Del Rio, from old west times to the 21st century. Make sure you check out the Cadena Nativity – it’s a huge Nativity collection; it’s 32 feet long, 20 feet deep, and 10 feet tall at parts. It was donated by the family of the lady who created it at her home. One of the buildings even showcases famous people from Del Rio.

Some of the buildings are original old buildings that were relocated here, and some were built just for this place and their exhibits.

From what I recall, street parking only – but there was plenty available when I was there.

And one last tidbit – Judge Roy Bean and his son Sam are both buried here – their remains were reinterred after grave site desecrations happened at their original burial locations.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Two random parrots are located on the grounds in cages. Pretty birds, but kinda random to be there lol!

Don’t expect too much here, but it is a good place to spend a couple of hours if you find yourself stuck in Del Rio (which is not a bad little town...

What a great find! We brought our 8 and 10 year old girls here and they completed the Junior Museum program- a great free program in which the kids compete a workbook and earn their museum name tags and badges. The program was well laid out with questions at different stops throughout the museum. I greatly appreciate this, as some programs send the kids all over the museum making it difficult and frustrating to complete. I also appreciate that the museum takes a common sense approach to COVID precautions. As an outdoor museum, they don't mind if you take off your mask when outside, away from other visitors. Billy, who signed the girls' books was very nice. A younger gentleman helped the girls with their books as was just as accommodating. The museum covers a ton of history of the area. I especially like that they recognize local 'helpers' from the community, not just the famous. You can visit a replica of Judge Roy Bean's saloon as well as his grave. Well...

This place is a gem of a museum complex. If you have some time to meander around a place with cool antiques and historical stuff, this place is great!

Almost every building is an exhibit you can open the door and go into. Its got all sorts of eclectic options - a giant nativity scene of 605 figuines, a wagon graveyard, a military room, an old fire engine... just tons of stuff. Its impossible to take it all in first pass.

The staff was great, super enthusiastic about their place, very helpfu and personable. Totally neat space to emmerse yourself in if you like that...