About the Museum
The Red River Valley Museum has had three distinct lives. The first life began in 1963 when the museum housed the J. Henry and Ethel Ray Artifacts Collection in an unused cloakroom of the County auditorium. There were no docents, no director, and few on-call volunteers. This continued until 1976, when an old hospital was donated; a director was hired; and the collections expanded.
In late 1985 William Bond donated his collection of 130 record-holding wild game trophy mounts from around the world. A 15,000 square foot modern, regional Museum was built adjacent to the Vernon College campus.
By late 1987, the Board of Directors resolved to move the museum into a more professional stance. At this time, there was no registration of objects, no Educational Outreach Program, and no Endowment Fund. From 1988 until the present, the museum has redesigned all exhibition halls, refined all exhibits, and instituted an outreach educational program and an Endowment Fund.
Our Mission
To preserve, protect, and present the history and exhibits entrusted to the Red River Valley Museum in an interesting, entertaining, and educational manner.
Our Origins
Ethel Ray was a member of the local Delphian Society, a national organization that promoted the education of women. In 1934 she was tasked with writing an essay on the “Principal Indians of the Southwest.” She and her husband, J. Henry, began to research these tribes as hobbyist archeologists. They soon found a passion for it and spent much of their free time searching for artifacts. They would accumulate a collection of over 10,000 items and opened a museum in their private home to tour groups. In 1963 they donated their collection to the City of Vernon where it eventually made its way to the current building on the Vernon College Campus.
