Short Summary

Welcome to the Buffalo Gap Historic Village! A program of the McWhiney History Education Group, a Texas-based 501 (c ) 3 public charity. This museum has been in operation since 1956 and tells the story of the settlement of the frontier and its transformation into an American heartland.  We have 18 buildings and 9,000 artifacts from 1875-1925 that weave a tale of ambition, perseverance, and a belief in the national future. The people who moved west made a life for themselves, their families, and future generations while carrying their faith, their work ethic, and their belief in national purpose with them.

Among our collection is the 1902 Buffalo Gap Chapel, one of the earliest Holiness/Nazarene churches and one of the first pastored by a woman. It is time to give this building a facelift. 

This building is in demand for small weddings, musical performances (it has great acoustics), lectures, and meetings. As such, it is an important revenue stream for our museum. We need to bring it up to speed in terms of aesthetics and comfort so that it remains competitive and viable as a community venue.

Your contribution not only preserves an important piece of American History but also provides a museum with a way to create revenues that support the overall operations for generations to come.    

What We Need & What You Get

We need $57,000 to add to $11,000 already pledged to this project. 

Your funds will go to replacing the lead based paint on the outside, repair some of the siding, windows, and trim carpentry, repaint in and out, make the climate control reliable, and refinish the pews and floor. Funds left over will be used to establish a maintenance endowment to protect this investment.  

We want to complete this project using crowd-source funding as a way of demonstrating to our other donors that our cause can attract support from a broad swath of the public. It demonstrates the viability of our program and helps attract institutional funders.

We will make your support worth your while! From museum memberships, books and art prints, to stays at our museum guest houses, free facility rentals (including weddings), and other perks, we want to reward our backers for their generosity and their belief in our project.

The Impact

The United States has a long religious tradition dating back to the first European settlers on the continent. A belief in Biblical teachings drove public policy and national vision for most of this nation’s history and helped create an environment of optimism and confidence in the future.  Faith is a powerful force and often achieves much.

Perhaps as importantly, houses of worship built community and created the heart and sinews of American towns and created a vibrancy that drove the national spirit. This is the story we tell every day at the Buffalo Gap Historic Village and in the Buffalo Gap Chapel.  We may be located in Texas, but the story we tell is an important story that transcends region, nation, and creed.

As quoted in Matthew 17:20, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed . . . nothing will be impossible for you.”

This is our faith our fellow citizens in action.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you can’t help with funds, please pass this link on to your friends, families, and professional circles. Be sure to use the Indiegogo share tools!