Wide selection of history books for sale at Marble Falls museum
The Falls on the Colorado Museum’s impressive selection of history books for sale includes Highland Lakes and Texas history. Two books by local authors are available from Arcadia Publishing, History Press: ‘Images of America: Marble Falls’ by Amanda Rose and Dr. Jane Knapik and ‘Hidden History of Burnet County’ by Suzanne Freeman. Courtesy photo
The Falls on the Colorado Museum is more than a place to experience history firsthand. Visitors can also take history home.
“We have a good selection of books for sale on local and Texas history, including those by local authors,” said Darlene Oostermeyer, chairman of the Marble Falls museum’s board, in a media release about the books. “The most recent one was just released by publication April 1 and was written by The Picayune (Magazine) Editor Suzanne Freeman.”
The museum hosted the launch party for “Hidden History of Burnet County” on April 5, filling its meeting space to capacity.
“We had a great turnout,” Oostermeyer said. “We sold dozens of books, and visitors had a great time trading stories, meeting Suzanne, and getting their books signed. Some people stocked up on presents for their family members, buying two, three, and four books!”
Part of the proceeds from sales of Freeman’s book goes to the nonprofit museum, 2001 Broadway St. in Marble Falls.
“Hidden History of Burnet County” is published by History Press, an imprint of Arcadia Publishing. Also available from Arcadia Publishing at the museum is “Images of America: Marble Falls” by local historian Dr. Jane Knapik and Marble Falls Public Library head librarian Amanda Rose. Published in 2013, the book contains 130 pages of historical images of the Highland Lakes city.
Other books related directly to Marble Falls and Burnet County history include:
- “The Angora Chronicles: Musings of an Old Goat Volume One” by Ronnie Lewis
- “The Cedar Choppers: Life on the Edge of Nothing” by Ken Roberts
- “The Evolution of a State: Recollections of Old Texas Days” by Noah Smithwick
- “The Partisan Rangers of the Confederate States Army” by Adam Rankin Johnson
- “Thunder from a Clear Sky: Stovepipe Johnson’s Confederate Raid on Newburgh, Indiana” by Raymond Mulesky
- “Polygamy on the Pedernales: Lyman Wight’s Mormon Villages in Antebellum Texas, 1845 to 1858” by Melvin C. Johnson
- “The Valley Between the Colorado and the Pedernales: The Early Days of Clover, Corwin, Cypress Mill, Double Horn, Fall Creek, Haynie Flat, Mud, Rockvale, Shovel Mountain, Spicewood” by Mary Albers Thompson and Madolyn Frasier
- “River of Contrasts: The Texas Colorado” by Margie Crisp
- “A Pictorial History of Marble Falls: The Land Embracing the Falls of the Colorado” by Billy Becker
- “The History of the German Settlements in Texas 1831-1861” by Rudolph Leopold Biesele and the German-Texan Heritage Society
Books related to local flora and fauna include:
- “Rockie: The Discovery, Excavation and Preservation of a Prehistoric Bison, Burnet County Texas” edited by Thomas R. Hester, Publication No. 1, The Falls on the Colorado Museum
- “Dragonflies of Texas: A Field Guide” by John C. Abbott
- “Armadillos to Ziziphus: A Naturalist in the Texas Hill Country” by David M. Hillis
Native American history books include:
- “Where the Broken Heart Still Beats: The Story of Cynthia Ann Parker” by Carolyn Meyer
- “Nine Years Among the Indians 1870-1879: The Story of the Captivity and Life of a Texan Among the Indians” by Herman Lehmann
- “Stone Artifacts of Texas Indians” by Ellen Sue Turner, Thomas Hester, et. al
- “Arrowheads and Stone Artifacts: A Practical Guide for the Surface Collector & the Amateur Archaeologist” by C.G. Yeager
- “Frontier Blood: The Saga of the Parker Family” by Jo Ella Powell Exley, part of the Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students, Texas A&M University
- “Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History” by S.C. Gwynne
- “The Last Comanche Chief: The Life and Times of Quanah Parker” by Bill Neeley
“What better place to brush up on local history and grow your own personal Texana library,” Oostermeyer said about the museum’s extensive collection. “Tour the library and buy a book on the way out. It’s a great way to get to know the roots of our local community and what an important part the people here have played in Texas history.”
The Falls on the Colorado Museum is open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit fallsmuseum.org.