Museum of the Coastal Bend > Exhibits

Victoria, Where Texas History Began                            March 4, 2010 - January 29, 2011

Take a journey through time with the Museum of the Coastal Bend as we examine the earliest historical accounts of the Victoria area through today in the 2010 exclusive exhibition, Victoria, Where Texas History Began.

Victoria opens with the early Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca, who lived among the natives in the vicinity of “the river of nuts” (probably the Guadalupe River) circa 1532. Sovereignty by France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States and the Confederate States followed Spanish claims. Victoria is the only county in Texas to have been governed by all six of these nations, making it the original “Six Flags Over Texas.” The exhibit ends in the Victoria of today, a unique blend of history, people and cultures.

The story of Victoria is told through artifacts, historical photographs, documents and maps from regional collections. This exhibition is organized exclusively for the Museum of the Coastal Bend and will not be seen elsewhere. Guided tours for 4th and 7th grade students are currently being scheduled, and are specifically designed to assist teachers in meeting and reinforcing TEKS curriculum requirements.
 

The La Salle Odyssey exhibit tells the story of the first European settlement in Texas- the French Fort St. Louis, and the French ship La Belle’s archeological excavation in Matagorda Bay.

Fort St. Louis and Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle  

The Fort St. Louis exhibition explores several subjects relating to the first French settlement in Victoria County and the first European settlement in Texas. From French explorer LaSalle’s early expeditions to life at Fort St. Louis and the archeological research on these subjects, each segment of this amazing story is told through informative scholarly written text panels, photographic images, and original artifacts found at the site.

The Cannons
The centerpiece exhibit in the Museum's gallery is the exhibit of seven of the eight cannons brought to Texas by French explorer La Salle. The eighth cannon is on exhibit at the State History Museum in Austin. The Fort St. Louis cannons are the focal point of the Museum gallery.

Presidio La Bahia scale model
The Spanish exploration and settlement of Texas in the early 1700s with the establishment of Presidio La Bahia in 1721 on the same site.

La Belle artifacts
Artifacts recovered from La Salle’s ship La Belle, which sank in nearby Matagorda Bay.