A historic vehicle and agriculture machinery museum will be coming to Main Street in Grapevine.
During the Feb. 17 City Council meeting, Paul W. McCallum, executive director for the Grapevine Convention & Visitor Bureau, said the building is being funded through an anonymous donation.
Grapevine-based Ware Brothers Construction was awarded the bid of $296,355, the lowest of the two submitted bids. Lawn Escapades and Custom Patio Covers submitted a bid of $419,607, while Lasso Work Cedar did not provide a bid amount.
Zooming in
The project will be 1,3000 square feet of enclosed space to house historic vehicles.
McCallum said the display museum will help keep the community’s history and heritage alive. He proposed a historic equipment museum at the Cotton Belt Railroad District to his board in November 2022 and presented it to the council, which approved it in June 2023.
He said equipment and funding had sought out since the approval.
The context
The viewing museum will be similar to the display at J.E. Foust & Son Funeral Directors and its historic horse-drawn hearse. McCallum said the ledge of the viewing space will be low enough that a 4-year-old can stand flat-footed and see all the vehicles.
McCallum said the enclosed space of approximately 1,300 square feet will house five vehicles permanently, and there will be a rotation of others throughout the year.
“[It's] a good way to tell our story on how things went on in Grapevine,” McCallum said.
He calls the 1870 Studebaker wagon a pride of the collection. He said Grapevine council member Sharron Rogers purchased it and had it restored before donating it to the museum.
Other equipment includes:
- A 1913 Case steam tractor, acquired from the JD Wilbanks estate auction in 2022 in Spearman. Wilbanks was the uncle of the late Shane Wilbanks, a former Grapevine council member.
- A 1880s chuck wagon from JA Ranch, which was donated to Nash Farm
- A 1932 Blankenship grain truck, donated by Cynthia and Gary Blankenship
- A 1928 Model A Grapevine Fire Department truck
- A 1957 International fire truck
What else?
McCallum said another unique piece of the museum will be a bread wagon used by Ninnie Baird and her company, now known as Mrs. Baird’s. The one-horse delivery system would traverse from Fort Worth to Grapevine to sell bread. McCallum said research from the Grapevine Sun showed stories about the horse-delivery system as early as the 1930s.
He said the wagon used for the bread delivery had been in storage in Dallas for several years, and Baird's great-great-granddaughter donated the historic piece.
McCallum also said the museum is searching for a 1950s Chevrolet Bel Air, which was a police car used by the Grapevine Police Department in the era and also doubled as the city’s ambulance service. McCallum explained the dual role came by rolling down the back windows and putting a patient on a stretcher between the window openings.
