Rotating Exhibit from Early 2019...

This unique exhibit is the folkcrafting and buckskinner collection of Cuero resident, Terry Ford, depicting a period from 1820 to 1824.

Ford, a retired parole officer, avid outdoorsman and hunter, developed his inspiration for his collection in the late 1980s from the 1980 movie, The Mountain Men, starring Charlton Heston and Brian Keith. Realizing there were regular buckskinner (reenactor) gatherings called “Rendezvous” all over the state, he decided to attend an event. He quickly made friends and was hooked on the outdoor experience, the folkcrafting and public interactions. Ford soon constructed his own buckskinner/mountain man possessions to become as realistic as possible.

The exhibit represents what was available for a trapper, fur trader, or mountain man willing to risk their lives for the money that animal pelts would yield during the early 1800’s time period. Nearly everything in this collection that isn’t a tool or weapon was handmade by Ford in the 1980s and 1990s - some items taking months to complete.

Through the years, you could find Ford educating the public at area county museums and schools. When going to schools, he was known to take along his pet donkey, Snickers. The look of surprise on the faces of students when Ford walked into a gymnasium dressed in full buckskinner/mountain man gear with Snickers at his side gained the full attention of all in attendance.