About Us
Representatives from eleven communities as well as landowners of archeological sites in this area have united in a common effort under the auspices of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma to stimulate heritage tourism across the region. Towns represented included Goldthwaite, Paint Rock, Ballinger, Coleman, Comanche, Early, DeLeon, Brownwood, Menard, San Saba, and Santa Anna. Also involved are the Executive Directors of the Texas Forts Trail and the Texas Midwest Community Network.
Organization
Key partners in the Penatuhkah Comanche Trails Partnership and their roles include the following:
- The Comanche Nation has helped coordinate PCTP goals for a culturally informed return to Texas. The Comanche Nation also guides and advises our partnership regarding a variety of significant issues on the path forward.
- Santa Anna Historical Development Organization has twin mesas towering over the town of Santa Anna as well as the town was named for the Penatuhkah Comanche War Chief Santana/Santa Anna. Santa Anna has been the lead Texas partner with the Comanche Nation since 1993.
- The Texas Forts Trail will coordinate the activities of the various member cities and institutions and protect their shared interests. It will provide resources and common identity to the various members and insure legality and fiscal responsibility to the combined membership.
- The Texas Midwest Community Network will assist member cities and organizations in accessing resources for economic development and deliver communication and support capabilities to members and group. TMCN will help in outreach to non-member cities and institutions in the region;
- Frontier Texas! will allow visitors to relive the Old West through the magic of state-of-the-art technology. Frontier Texas! brings the frontier to life and lets visitors meet people who played out their lives on the Texas frontier.
- Member City Chambers of Commerce and Visitor Bureaus will support the activities of the Penatuhkah Comanche Trails Partnership and coordinate project development around mutual economic development for the Partnership and The Comanche Nation. These members will assist in identifying potential privately owned sites sacred to First American history.
Our Mission
The Penatuhkah Comanche Trails Association promotes the restoration, conservation and interpretation of Comanche Traditional Cultural Properties (TCPs) and the history and traditions of the Penatuhkah Comanche band in Texas. This partnership creates economic opportunities for all partners through heritage and ecotourism programs that tell the stories of this significant history at the places where it happened and encouraging a Comanche presence in their Texas homeland.
Our Goals
The Penatuhkah Comanche Trails Partnership will use its expertise concerning the significant Traditional Cultural Properties (TCP) in our target area to agree on the suitable purposes of those TCPs and restore them to Comanche awareness and use. The Penatuhkah Comanche Trails Partnership is knowledgeable of places other than TCPs in our target area that can tell the Penatuhkah story and will develop ways to tell the story. And the Penatuhkah Comanche Trails Partnership will deliver programs that promote the areas Penatuhkah Comanche history and its economic development.
Who We Are
Comanche Nation of Oklahoma
- The Comanche Nation has, for over 30 years, facilitated a Comanche return to Texas. Comanche leaders including Tribal Chairmen, Tribal Councils and Tribal Preservation Officers, elders and other tradition bearers (historians, spiritual leaders, artists, and descendants of the Penatuhkah Band) have contributed knowledge and helped
coordinate PCTP goals for a culturally informed return to Texas. - They have verified Comanche Traditional Cultural Properties and shared information regarding the
importance of these TCPs. They serve as advisors regarding access to culturally sensitive sites. - The Comanche Nation also guides and advises our partnership regarding a variety of significant issues on the path forward and goals.
Texas Midwest Community Network
Assist member cities and organizations in accessing resources for economic development.
Deliver communication and support capabilities to members and group. Help in outreach to non-member cities and institutions in the region.
San Saba County Historical Museum
Anchor the southeast region of the Penatuhkah Comanche Trails Partnership. Educate citizens on the importance of the transatlantic frontier history between the German founders of Fredericksburg and the Penatuhkah band. A peace treaty between them was signed at San Saba River west of city. This treaty is a rare, if not unique, unbroken Indian treaty. The “White Path” of peace from Santa Anna Peaks, through San Saba and many other significant Penatuhkah destinations, to Fredericksburg provides an inspiring example of how we should treat each other if we want peace.
Legacy Plaza Botanical Garden and Native American Interpretive Center
Legacy Plaza, consisting of The Texas Botanical Gardens and The Goldthwaite Welcome Center includes the Native American Interpretive Center, which exhibits ancient Texans’ use of local plants and waterways and shows the impact the natural environment of Central Texas had on their social, educational, spiritual, and cultural lives. Legacy Plaza also offers a variety of on- and off-site educational programming for children and adults alike through field trips, presentations, and interactive hands-on experiences.
Menard County Historical Society
Anchor the southwest region of the Penatuhkah Comanche Trails Partnership. The Menard County Historical Society is formed for historical and literary purposes in regard to the preservation and documentation of the people, places, and events pertinent to the history of Menard County.
Santa Anna Historical Development Organization
The twin mesas towering over the town of Santa Anna were named for the Penatuhkah Comanche War Chief Santana/Santa Anna. The town also carries his name. These peaks were the military center of Comanche power at the zenith of the horse culture in Texas. This town has a contemporary treaty of peace and friendship with the Comanche Nation. Santa Anna has been the lead Texas partner with the Comanche Nation since 1993 and continues in this role.
Brown County Museum of History
The Brown County Museum of History, Inc., exists to preserve the tangible evidence of our heritage and to educate the public through exhibits and interpretive programs. The main building at 209 North Broadway houses displays – mainly interactive – relevant to Brown County from prehistory to the present. The museum also maintains and provides tours of the four-story Brown County Jail, built in 1903 and located across the street from the main building.
Texas Forts Trails
Provide resources and common identity to the various members.
Provide legality and fiscal responsibility to the combined membership and administer grants.
Member City Chambers of Commerce and Visitor
Bureaus Support the activities of the Penatuhkah Comanche Trails Partnership. Coordinate project development around mutual economic development for stakeholders. Assist in identifying (and protecting site confidently as needed or requested) relevant cultural and natural resources on privately owned sites that may be Traditional Cultural Properties associated with Penatuhkah Comanche history and heritage.
Mills County Historical Museum
The mission statement of the Mills County Historical Museum has been to acquire, preserve, and interpret items from or related to Mills County that have historical significance to the residents and visitors of the county.
As one enters the museum, a painted mural of the first courthouse is seen as the backdrop for the first car registered in Mills County. The museum is housed in a building that was erected in 1893 and a second story was added in 1906.
The residents of Mills County are very proud of the numerous authenticated Indian sites located on private lands here. Visiting the Mills County Historical Museum will open a world of Penantuhkah relics which includes an extensive arrowhead and tool collection as well as historical documentation of the last two Indian massacres in the county.
Get Involved
Address
P.O. Box 3
Santa Anna, TX 76878
Get Directions
INFORMATION CENTER HOURS
Thurs – Sat : 10am – 6pm