G.A. Holland (1859-1946) moved in 1882 from his native Kentucky to Poolville, Texas, where he taught school for six years. In 1894, Holland relocated to nearby Weatherford where he was long active in business, political, and civic endeavors including being president of Citizens National Bank and mayor. He constructed Holland's Lake, a popular local fishing and swimming hole, and moved historic log cabins to the site to house his collection of museum artifacts. Holland also authored a history of Parker County. G.M. Bowie (1846-1918), a native of Scotland, came to Texas in 1868 and briefly taught school in Black Springs (now Oran) on the Parker-Jack county line. Moving to Weatherford, he became a partner in the lumber firm of Wm. Cameron & Company. Bowie moved to White Castle, Louisiana, circa 1891 to operate the company cypress lumber and shingle mill. He returned to Weatherford in 1897 where he remained active in business and civic affairs for the remainder of his life.
The Bowie and Holland Families Papers are comprised of photocopied correspondence, newspaper clippings, genealogical information, legal documents, printed materials; and 69 digital scans documenting the achievements of G.A. Holland and G.M. Bowie and their families. Highlights of the collection include scans of formal family portraits and snapshots, including photographs of a 1912 road trip made by Sam White, Barney Holland, and Lem Scarbrough from Weatherford to San Francisco and back in a Stoddard-Dayton 48 Saybrook automobile. An inventory of Holland's Log Cabin Museum items given to the Fort Worth Children's Museum (now the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History), a 1930 catalog of the Parker County Fair, and constitution and by-laws of the Pioneer Association of Parker County are also among the materials.
Open for research.
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Gift of Barney B. Holland, Jr.,
Gift,
Accessioned as number 2012-38.
Bowie and Holland Families Papers, 1886-1990, Unprocessed Manuscript 2012-38, Box Number, Folder Number, Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library.
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