The Presidential Museum is dedicated to the study of the office of the Presidency, to the examining and understanding of constitutional government and elective process culminating in the Presidency.

       The United States is a nation that abounds in unique and creative museums. It is with strong conviction that we believe that our remote city is home to one of the most community service-oriented and exemplary museums in America.

       Through its collections, exhibits, publications, educational and entertaining programs, it offers insights into democracy and its offices for all to understand.

       Teaching leadership in a changing world, The Presidential Museum is dedicated to teaching cultural values: 1) respect and appreciation for American ideals, 2) tolerance and kindness, 3) repudiating for all time violence and hate.

       The concept of organizing such a tribute began immediately following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, November 22, 1963, by a small group of Odessa visionaries who shared concerns about the need to restore confidence in the nation's highest office. William Holm (Superintendent of Ector County School District) and Dr. Luis Morton (Odessa College professor) were so moved by this tragic event; the two introduced the idea of establishing a tribute to the slain president to Mrs. Leland (Dorothy) Croft. This core of three recruited others to serve on the development committee; other primary forces in the project included former Texas State Attorney General John Ben Shepperd and local business leader J. Camden Chancellor.

       The initial idea was quickly expanded to encompass the entire presidency -honoring all those occupying the office - past, present, and future. The Presidential Room in the Ector County Library of Odessa, Texas, was officially recognized on January 1, 1964, only forty days after the death of President Kennedy.

       The Presidential Room was opened to the public on February 25, 1965. It was stated in the opening ceremonies:

       "Conceived in an hour of national tragedy - it was created in an hour of total unity, and it was completed in an hour of faith that the
Presidency of the United States is a great and noble responsibility."

       These ideals still hold true for the new Presidential Museum and Leadership Library.

The museum was granted its IRS 501(c) (3) status in March 1965; the State of Texas recognized it as a corporation in September 1978.

       With an ever-increasing collection of campaign memorabilia, portraits, signatures, documents, commemorative items, and political cartoons of the Presidents, Vice Presidents, First Ladies, "also-ran" candidates, as well as the Presidents of the Republic of Texas and the Confederate States of America, the museum expanded. Eventually occupying the 3,000 square-foot basement, in February 1969, the name was officially changed to The Presidential Museum.

       The Library of the Presidents (dedicated as a memorial to John Ben Shepperd, Jr. by former President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson) is an exceptional repository for 4,500+ volumes, journals, periodicals, newspapers, and documents pertaining to topics related to the presidency. Researchers are invited to use the resources for on-site examination.

       In July 1981, the Ector County Library moved to another location and the museum was allowed to occupy the entire building. With the expansion to include the 13,200 square-foot ground floor, a renovation and design project was undertaken with a grant from the City of Odessa.

       The Presidential Museum is a premiere institution in the nation. It strives in every way to maintain utmost quality in exhibits and programs pertaining to our nation's leadership. According to A Position Paper for the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism, "Cultural tourism - travel directed toward experiencing the arts, heritage, and special character of a place - is an important component of United States' travel and tourism industry. America's rich heritage, rooted in our history, our creativity and our diverse population, provides visitors to our communities with a wide variety of cultural opportunities, including museums, arts and crafts, historic sites, dance, music, theater, festivals, historic buildings and neighborhoods, landscapes, and literature." With such a melding of educational and economic goals in mind, The Presidential Museum stimulates the study and presentation of social studies through a variety of disciplines to encourage and expand participation and appreciation by all - and to preserve our national pride

       Extraordinary collections and exceptional library and archival materials are continually being acquired to detail the private and public lives of our First Families. The use of interdisciplinary educational opportunities are encouraged allowing students from various disciplines to experience the diversity of the museum to its fullest. Because of its efforts, the museum has attained a qualified reputation of superior educational exhibitions and programs. School groups and adult groups from across the nation have taken the opportunity to gain a new respect and appreciation for our American principles. House Resolution Number 677, signed by Pete Laney, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, states:

"The Presidential Museum has consistently striven to preserve and present to the citizens of this state and nation a wealth of historical material related to the nation's highest office in an entertaining, informative, and accessible manner..."

       A number of programs have been designed to meet the expectations of the pluralistic population of our nation, and in particular, our West Texas community:
1) Feature exhibitions highlight subjects appealing to the varied interests and age levels of museum patrons,
2) Distinguished speakers present programs throughout the year, and
3) Summer concert series offers an entertaining venue in which performing artists share the cultural smorgasbord that makes up America's public. Museum visitors expect to learn from their experiences and the opportunities provided by The Presidential Museum are most certainly a crucial elements in the intellectual stimulation and rekindling of our national spirit.

       Having served the Permian Basin for more than three decades at the downtown Odessa location, Texas State Representative G.E. Buddy West (R-District 81) authored House Bill #1 for the 76`th Legislative Body to consider. The "special item support" was passed on May 26, 1999, "for the purpose of constructing a building to house The Presidential Museum on a leased portion of The University of Texas Permian Basin Campus." With Governor George W. Bush's signature, the Museum entered the dawn of a new era. The Presidential Museum and Leadership Library have relocated onto The University of Texas of the Permian Basin campus. The new location will unlock the Museum's potential - to expand its educational mission, to enhance tourism, and to create a cultural cluster for the community, combining the Arts, Letters, and Humanities.

       The Presidential Museum joins with UTPB in extending its educational, institutional, and leadership development. The new location is destined to unlock the Museum's potential - expand the Museum's educational mission; enhance tourism to West Texas; and help solidify a "museum district" for Odessa. A greater visibility on the University campus and the corresponding credibility of the museum in the education community should increase its instructional significance.

       In addition to sharing its physical and human resources with its immediate local constituency, the museum will move into an enlarged regional role with energy and imagination. The Presidential Museum and Leadership Library, through its institutional reach and resources, will collect, organize, and provide a wide variety of data covering the history of the United States and Texas. While maintaining its original presidential emphasis, the goal is to incorporate the richness and texture of the immediate regions into its exhibitions and research materials. The library provides access to secondary, compiled data as well as a limited amount of primary sources.

       Students in leadership studies and history and political science will find it easier to access data. Ready access to campus expertise on museum management, collection development, and library/archive collective maintenance should aid the museum. In this way, a symbiotic relationship can be expected to grow where the improved museum collection becomes a greater resource for student and scholarly research.

       The Museum has attained national recognition as a primary source of information about the presidency. The ever-increasing collection is a beneficial resource to area political science students and other students of history and social studies. The project will add a massive educational, historic, cultural, and economic vitality to the proposed cultural district on the south side of the UTPB campus. With the new Presidential Museum neighboring the Ellen Noel Art Museum as an anchor, the proposed cultural district will be developed not only for the enjoyment of Odessans, but for out-of-area visitors as well.

       The handsome space on the UTPB campus will allow a greater cooperative education element for increased public programs. By working with The University, the museum will be able to substantially increase adult programming, concentrating on political science and leadership. However, it also will draw a major increase in interdisciplinary studies of the exhibits and collections. There will be designated areas for outdoor programming, which, in the mild West Texas climate can be undertaken throughout the year. The easily accessible facility will allow groups of all ages to tour, study, learn - and enjoy.

       This principle behind its inception is as meaningful today as it was in 1965. The Museum has attained national recognition as a primary source of information about the presidency and it joins with UTPB in extending its educational, institutional, and leadership development. The ever-increasing collection is a beneficial resource to area political science students and other students of history and social studies.

       Most recently, two additions were made to the Museum's macro collections. In July 1948, after George H.W. Bush was graduated from Yale University, he and his wife, Barbara, and infant son, George W., moved to Odessa where he was an oil field trainee with Ideco. The Bush family quickly adapted to the community and customs of West Texas. They first rented a shotgun house at 1319 E. Seventh St., they moved to 1523 E. Seventh St., then to 916 E. 17th St. before transferring to California in April 1949. Bush said, "At Odessa we became Texans - and proud of it." Two of the homes have since been razed. The 916 E. 17th St. residence was acquired by The Presidential Museum in the fall of 2001 and moved in March 2004 behind the new museum building. This modest house (the home of the 41st and the 43rd Presidents of the United States) has been refurbished to a state similar to that in which the Bush family lived.

       A second residence of historical significance was offered to The Presidential Museum in late 2001. This house at 1405 W. Golf Course Road, Midland, was built over the winter of 1976-77 and was purchased in April 1977 from the builder by George W. Bush, a single man. Bush married Laura Welch in 1978 and started their family in their Golf Course Road home. It was also in 1978 that he entered the political arena when he ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress. George and Laura Bush sold this home in 1985. George W. Bush was elected in 1995 the 46th Governor of the State of Texas and in 2000 the 43rd President of the United States of America.

       The Geraldine T. Box Foundation gifted the Golf Course Road property to The Presidential Museum. To maintain the tranquil integrity of the residential community, in which the house is located, it was in mutual agreement that the property would be used as an educational resource facility, instead of as a high-traffic public museum. The property landscape has recently been given a facelift with the help of students in the Junior Master Gardeners Program from three Midland schools, Team Depot, Color Spot Nurseries, and other commercial providers. Plans are currently being developed to implement even more of the committee's proposed ideas.

       It is still one of the most accessible museums in the nation. The Presidential Museum is committed to providing an understanding of constitutional government for all citizens of the predominately rural Odessa and Midland. This is accomplished through affordable admission, one of the most financially manageable membership rates in the country, and exhibition and related programming that appeal to diverse audiences. The expanded footprint into the Midland community also allows greater educational opportunities. The museum is destined to attain a higher informational profile throughout the Petroplex, providing a greater quality of life for all West Texans.

       Mary Frances Beverly, a West Texas freelance writer, closed her feature article in the February 1998 issue of Texas Highways magazine, "So, here's your ballot. Is Odessa's presentation of U.S. Presidents fun? Educational? Worth the trip? No doubt about it. But in true democratic spirit, come see the museum for yourself, and cast your own vote. Remember, every day here is Presidents' Day." It is worth the trip to this one-of-a-kind museum just to remind yourself of the proud and important heritage surrounding the office of the American presidency.

       Community support is being solicited to support the operating expenses incurred in providing such a facility. Efforts also are underway to raise a $4-million endowment for additional educational, interpretive exhibitions and programming.