Winedale Historical Center

The Winedale Historical Center, located in the small community of Winedale in northeastern Fayette County, Texas, is an outdoor museum and study center dedicated to Texas history. The Winedale property was purchased in 1963 by Miss Ima Hogg (1882-1975), a Houston philanthropist, arts patron, and advocate of cultural and educational programs, in order to preserve and restore the historic Stagecoach Inn, located on the property.

In 1965, Miss Hogg collaborated with the University of Texas at Austin to begin developing a cultural study center at Winedale. By 1967, she had given the University of Texas the acreage, the restored buildings and an endowment for their upkeep. At that time, the University of Texas founded the Stagecoach Inn Council to adminster the restoration of the Inn. Today, the once simple farmstead has expanded to contain seven historical buildings situated on the 190-acre tract and is known as the Winedale Historical Center.

Beginning in 1969, the University of Texas' School of Architecture began sponsoring workshops in areas of Texas architecture and historic preservation. By 1975, these workshops evolved into the ongoing Winedale Institute in Historic Preservation, a four-week, in-residence, interdisciplinary course in the documentation and recording of historic sites in Central Texas. It is affiliated with the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) of the National Park Service, offering experience in historic documentation, ink on Mylar drafting and National Register of Historic Places documentation. The Institute was held under the direction of University of Texas Architecture Professor Wayne Bell and was open to undergraduate and graduate students in fields such as architecture, interior design and American studies.

The Winedale Historical Center has hosted tours and cultural events for the general public, such as the annual Winedale Festival, which includes the Shakespeare at Winedale Theatre performances, and orchestral concerts. The Winedale museum offers exhibitions in Texas cultural history. In addition, the Center provides a setting for scholars, craftsmen, and students to study, observe and recreate buildings and artifacts from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century.