Permanent Collection

Featured on Travel Channel's Mysteries at the Museum! Moustache Cups gained prominence during the second half of the 19th century. They were designed for the moustached man, a fashionable facial feature of the day. The inner shelf across the top edge prevented one's moustache from becoming soiled with coffee, chocolate, or tea.

In 1991, Mrs. T.M. (Frances) Neal of Temple, Texas donated 200 moustache cups to the museum. In addition, Caroline Ruth Allen Wollny, made another substantial donation of moustache cups in 2004. Together, the collection represents the largest publicly held collection of its kind in the United States.

Come see our moustache cup display, and see if you can find the rare left-handed cup!

The Miriam A. Ferguson Collection chronicles the life of one of Texas’ First Ladies and the first female Governor of Texas. A native of Bell County, Miriam A. Ferguson attended Salado College and Baylor Female College (now The University of Mary Hardin Baylor) before marrying another future Texas Governor, James Ferguson.

The Bell County Museum's collection includes photographs, clothing, correspondence, housewares, and furniture, and was donated in 1991 by James and Barbara Watt.

The C.O. Buckellew Collection features twelve miniature models of historic Bell County homes and buildings. The Bell County Courthouse, Curtis Mansion, Temple Carnegie Library, and many other structures are represented!

Mr. Buckellew began crafting miniature home models in 1980. Trained as an engineer at Texas A&M University, he developed a procedure of photographing actual buildings, determining appropriate scale, then drawing two dimensional plans before the building process. "I just wanted these replicas to exist as part of a historical record of Bell County," he said.

The Bell County Museum houses an expansive lithic collection from both amateur and professional collectors. Some are available for further exploration on the website below.

Lithics Catalog