The Briscoe-Garner Museum is undergoing major renovations, scheduled for completion in the summer. On December 11, a fire broke out at the museum. However, museum staff in Uvalde and Austin are determined to finish the work on time. In order to help concerned members of the public keep track of progress, staff have created the following webpage: www.facebook.com/briscoegarner.
"Despite the recent fire, construction work is continuing in tandem with repair work and now friends of the museum can stay informed about the process," said Don Carleton, executive director of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. "Very soon the local community will once more be home to a fine museum."
The webpage can be used without logging into Facebook. Webpage visitors can view photographs of recent construction work and access news stories about the work. The webpage’s content is regularly updated.
The Briscoe-Garner Museum is dedicated to the remarkable lives of John Nance "Cactus Jack" Garner and Dolph Briscoe, both Uvalde natives and historically important political figures from Texas. The museum is a division of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin.
The Briscoe Center plans to maintain the museum’s existing exhibit space (devoted to Garner) on the museum's first floor and create new exhibits dedicated to Briscoe on the second floor, which previously had been closed to the public. The Garner exhibit is currently on display at the First State Bank of Uvalde main branch lobby.
The Briscoe Center archives include the extensive John Nance Garner Scrapbook Collection, the only significant body of Garner papers that exists, and Dolph Briscoe’s personal and gubernatorial papers.