Posted 2:20 am Sunday, September 13, 2009
Lindale Celebrates Opening Of Outdoor Heritage Museum
By COSHANDRA DILLARD
Staff Writer
LINDALE -- Despite the gloomy weather Saturday, an estimated 500 to 600 people gathered at the grand opening of the Parrot Park Agricultural and Heritage Museum in Lindale. The museum, a group of buildings arranged to resemble a small village, is the fruit of decades worth of antique collecting by Lindale resident Bill Parrot.
Staff Writer
LINDALE -- Despite the gloomy weather Saturday, an estimated 500 to 600 people gathered at the grand opening of the Parrot Park Agricultural and Heritage Museum in Lindale. The museum, a group of buildings arranged to resemble a small village, is the fruit of decades worth of antique collecting by Lindale resident Bill Parrot.
Parrot donated the nearly 30 acres of land that sit on four parcels of land to the city in 2003, not long after he discovered he had cancer. He intended the Old Mill Pond structure to become a restaurant with a few collectable items on display but as his interest in antiques grew, so did his vision for a museum.
EAST TEXAS HERITAGE: A small guitar and other stringed instruments hang from the ceiling inside the museum.
"It's a rural heritage working museum," Parrot said. "People are going to see how our ancestors lived in the rural community."
Through the years, Parrot collected the items from auctions around the country and Canada.
On the property there is a blacksmith shop, a replica of a moonshine distillery, a corn grist mill, antique tractors, pharmaceutical and medical equipment, a 1925 Model T car, a flour wheat meal, portable cotton scale and household items. And tucked away behind the other structures and a large pond is a quaint chapel with its own bell prayer tower.
Parrot said a crowd favorite is a collection of antique string instruments, some dating back to the 1800s. Saturday's event also featured a simulation of a Wild West shootout by the Texas Pistolaros at high noon and organizers provided free hamburgers to more than 400 people.
Among the most visible displays from U.S. Highway 69 is a 105- foot tower which houses a whistle, affectionately called Big John in reference to the John 3:3 scripture from the Bible. It
sounds four times a day and can be heard for several miles, Parrot said.
Upon the entrance sits a large water wheel, 22 feet in diameter, which is operated by pulleys and belts and can be seen turning from the highway.
The working project at the museum has been one that drew curiosity from local residents for several years, some residents told Parrot, as he greeted them.
Owen Scott, Lindale city manager, said he was surprised by the turnout, but pleased nonetheless.
"It's been a great turnout and we thought the weather would dampen the spirit but it's been fantastic," he said. "We see this being a big draw to Lindale."
Scott and Charles West, director of community development, said the city is appreciative to Parrot for his generous donation and look forward to the museum's growth. West has lead the project and said there are too many items to count.
"It took a lot of work and a lot of help from different people," he said. "Mr. Parrot has collected these things over 30 years so it's taken a lot of manual labor to get it all organized."
There are two employees at the museum and a host of volunteers. West said he expects the museum to one day be open seven days a week with more full time employees and annual events held at the site. The feedback from Lindale residents, he said, has been encouraging.
"It's all been positive. A lot of people can't believe the stuff we have out here."
The Parrot Park Agricultural and Heritage Museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It is located at 2900 S. Main St.
