About the Society
The Alvin Museum Society was chartered in 1978 as a result of action by the Alvin Bicentennial Commission, authorizing the creation of the Alvin Historical Museum to collect and record the history of the community. Housed in a remodeled former U.S. Post Office building, it contains 21 permanent exhibits that explore the development of Alvin from its beginnings as an 1879 Santa Fe railroad loading site through its growth into a diverse Gulf Coast community.
From its beginning, the mission of the Alvin Museum Society has been to “preserve the history of Alvin and its immediate area by heightening residents’ awareness of the value of saving the past for the benefit of the future.” The Society maintains two facilities: a 1910 Victorian style house which has been restored and furnished to reflect the lifestyle of the period and the Historical Museum, which houses the collected artifacts and documents relating to Alvin’s history.
The Society began raising funds in the late 1970s, initially through private and corporate donations. Over the next 25 years, membership worked at fundraising through additional community-wide events, accruing nearly $225,000 by the early 2000s. Today, member dues cover most operating costs, while donations and memorials are used to “grow” the museum.
About the Museum
The Alvin Historical Museum serves as a casual destination for area residents as well as history buffs, tourists, and special exhibit visitors. The Museum is located in historic downtown Alvin, TX and housed in the renovated Alvin post office.
Come explore exhibits ranging from Prehistoric, Indian, the Formation of Texas and Alvin, Railroad, Ranching, Farming, War, and much more.
Temporary exhibits are also featured and change every few months. Visit our website for current information and hours.
Additional Activities in the Alvin Museum Society
Members of the Alvin Museum Society are encouraged to volunteer for these special activities. Click here to fill out and download a volunteer application.
Preservation
High-Resolution Scanning and Digitizing of Photographs
The Alvin Museum Society is interested in obtaining old photographs of persons, groups, businesses, and events relating to the history of the Alvin area. The photographs are scanned to become part of our digital archives and then the originals are returned to the owner.
Archive of Alvin Sun Newspaper – early Editions
The Alvin Museum Society archives contain the only collection of old editions of the Alvin Sun. These have been photographed and digitized in preparation for use with Optical Character Recognition software to use for research purposes.
Documentation
Using Past Perfect software to compile a database
Volunteers login and document information about artifacts, documents, and photographs which have been acquired or donated to the Museum. The database will be used to help create future exhibits.
Oral History
The Alvin Museum Society is making a catalog of existing taped interviews with plans to transfer them to a digital format. New equipment will allow digital interviews to be conducted with local people to preserve their life stories.
Programs for the Public
Museum volunteers are available to give presentations based on research done throughout collection on places, people and events connected to Alvin’s history.
Board of Directors
The Texas History Portal is a digital gateway to Texas history materials belonging to more than 280 partners that include museums, libraries, and historical societies throughout Texas. Because of partners’ contributions, the Portal has more than 623,000 items consisting of many types of materials such as photographs, maps, books, letters, manuscripts, artifacts, and newspapers.
The Alvin Museum Society saw this portal as a valuable asset and was awarded a grant to have its North Side School documents digitized. This collection of documents is a relatively unknown culture and history of the Alvin Independent School District. The North Side School existed as a separate but unequal school for Alvin Latinos from the early 1920s until 1950. North Side School has a rich history with important cultural significance that shows a strong dedication on the part of Hispanic parents who sought to bring better educational opportunities to their children.
Alvin is located in the northeastern Brazoria County, just twenty five miles from the hustle and bustle of Houston, and minutes away from the sandy beaches of the Texas Gulf Coast.