Photographer: Kevin Stillman

Founded as the Hildalgo County Historical Museum in 1967, exhibits cover the history of South Texas and Northeastern Mexico from prehistoric times up to 1900. All new permanent exhibits have been installed in the $2.5 million new wing, starting with a sea dinosaur and a 14-foot skeleton of an ice-age mammoth. The museum also features exhibits on Coahuiltecan Indians, the Spanish exploration and colonization, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Steamboat-Era and more. Admission fee.