Stories of American west come alive at Galveston museum

GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Step through the doors of the Bryan Museum in Galveston, and go back to a time when pioneers were pushing westward and gunslingers and cattle rustlers roamed freely.

Texas oilman J.P. Bryan amassed this incredible collection of history over the course of a lifetime.

He kept collecting for seven decades, until he decided these historic treasures should be on display.

He opened the Bryan Museum in 2015, giving new life to an exquisite building with a long history of its own.

Although it's been years since children last lived here, you'll still find traces of them. Now, where children once played, sits one of the world's largest collections of history focused on Texas and the American West.

The stories of the people who built the island and fought for it come to life inside these display cases, including a single night of terror, Sept. 8, 1900: The Great Galveston Storm.

Six-thousand people were killed in the greatest natural disaster in American history.

If not for the Great Storm, Galveston might look much different today. But even in the face of tragedy, islanders never hesitated to rebuild and restore their beloved city.

The museum is located at 1315 21st Street, in Galveston. You can learn more on the Bryan Museum's website.