Join the Mayborn Museum for an evening of fascinating history and architecture with Dr. Kenneth Hafertepe, renowned historian and professor of Museum Studies at Baylor University. This engaging and informative lecture is designed especially for adult audiences with an interest in Texas history, architecture, or both.

Through vivid storytelling and historical imagery, Dr. Hafertepe will explore how early Texans lived during the Republic era (1836–1846) — from log cabins to Creole cottages to ambitious plantation homes. What did these homes say about the people who built them? Were they rough-and-ready frontierspeople, or were they dreaming of their own Mount Vernon?

You’ll hear about Stephen F. Austin’s grand visions, Sam Houston’s lived realities, and the architectural choices that reflected the young Republic’s hopes, hardships, and heritage