(Press release)

The Bell County Museum is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibit on Ma and Pa Ferguson. Meet the Fergusons: Two Governors for the Price of One will be on view at the Bell County Museum from September 5 through March 13, 2010.

The opening will feature a tour of the new exhibit, as well as a performance with Mary Jean Boston in the role of Miriam Ferguson. Mrs. Boston originally wrote the performance for the Living Room Theatre of Salado. Punch and cookies will also be served at this free event, which will be held from 2-4 p.m.

Mrs. Ferguson (1875-1961), a Bell County native, was the first woman to be elected governor in Texas. She served two terms as governor of Texas, 1925-1926 and 1933-34. Her husband, James E. Ferguson (1871-1944), was also a Bell County native and served as governor of Texas from 1915 to 1917.

The Bell County Museum is home to the largest public collection of Ferguson material, donated by the Ferguson family in 1991. Included in it is First Lady Miriam Ferguson’s inaugural ball gown, worn at her husband’s first inauguration in 1915. Jim Ferguson's inauguration took place in the House of Representatives Chamber at the Capitol in Austin. In The Fergusons of Texas, eldest daughter Ouida Ferguson Nalle described the setting: “The Speaker's stand was a grotto for the orchestra; an electric fountain played water over the background. Balloons, flags, potted ferns and bunting decorated the rest of the House, but that electric fountain was really something!”

The Fergusons were very colorful and controversial characters in Texas history. Jim, a charismatic leader and speaker, is known for improvements in the tenancy system, his anti-prohibition stance, the creation of new schools, and of the Texas Highway Department, which he signed into existence on April 4, 1917. He is also known for his quarrel with the University of Texas Board of Regents, and his conviction on ten charges of misapplication of public funds and embezzlement. The state Senate, as the High Court of Impeachment, removed Jim from office and made him unable to hold any public office in the state.

Although Jim tried to run for public office as Texas governor as well as the presidency under the American party ticket, he was unsuccessful. Still very popular with Texas voters, Jim nominated his wife for the governorship under the slogan, “two governors for the price of one.”

Miriam Amanda Wallace Ferguson won and became the first woman governor of Texas in 1924.

While Miriam Ferguson’s governorship was marked by controversy (charges of excessive pardons and political patronage abuses), she defeated the “Klan man,” Felix Robertson, and worked to take away the Klan’s power. Her second term (1934-35) during the height of the Great Depression, was less controversial, but her liberal pardoning policies continued.

The Bell County Museum is located at 201 North Main in Belton. Museum hours are noon-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free.