History of the American Museum of Agriculture

In 1969, as agricultural museum was deemed important to the people of West Texas. Too many people thought of the old machinery left in the back yard as junk. To Alton Brazell, a Lubbock County Commissioner for 36 years, this junk was a hidden treasure. Alton took it upon himself to begin a collection of agricultural equipment and machinery that told the story of American agriculture. This collection became the property of the Lubbock County Commissioner’s Court, known as the Lubbock County Historical Collection. Part of the collection was housed on five acres in Shallowater, known as the Shallowater Park. Another part of the collection was stored in a warehouse in downtown Lubbock.

In August 2001, a group of agriculture industry leaders from the South Plains gathered at the first meeting of the non-profit organization the American Museum of Agriculture in Lubbock. In 2002, the Lubbock County Historical Collection permanently loaned the exhibits to the American Museum of Agriculture. The museum, which is located at 1501 Canyon Lake Drive, opened its doors to the public in May 2002. The museum strives to preserve the history and tell the story of American agriculture.

Today, the collection ranges from household items to Moldboard plows and tractors. The American Museum of Agriculture currently houses restored tractors, a threshing machine, broadcast binder, combine, 71 pedal tractors, 300 die-cast toy tractors, and approximately 300 other artifacts and pieces of smaller equipment. In storage, the museum has horse-drawn equipment, field condition tractors, threshing machines, combines, grain binders, mowing machines, grain drills, hay rakes, hay balers, cotton strippers and cotton trailers.

The American Museum of Agriculture is open from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Volunteers staff the museum and keep it open to the public. Staff manages the daily operations and fundraising efforts for the museum.

Board of Directors

Dan Taylor – President of the Board of Directors
Owner and CEO of Buster’s Gin and Farmer
Lubbock Chamber of Commerce – Member, Former Chairman of Agriculture Committee
Wolfforth Chamber of Commerce – Member, Former Director
Ropes Lions Club – Member, Former President
Texas FFA Foundation – Co-Vice Chairman
Hockley County Stock Show – Board Member
TTU College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Dean’s Advisory Council
TTU Research/Grad Studies Development Council

Patti Jones – Vice President of the Board of Directors
Lubbock County Commissioner
Lubbock County 4-H – Volunteer
Texas Cooperative Extension – Executive Board, various committees
Lubbock County Soil & Water Conservation – Director, various offices
South Plains Association of Government – Director, Secretary
Lubbock Area Republican Women
Success by Six – Leadership Council
Jr. League – Advisory Community Council
Panhandle - South Plains Fair – Youth Superintendent for 9 years
Lubbock County Farm Bureau
West Texas Association of County Judges and Commissioners
County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas

Curtis Griffith – Secretary of the Board of Directors
Chairman of City Bank
Owner of Southwest Gin
Lubbock Economic Development Alliance- Incoming Board Chairman
Texas Tech Foundation – Former Chairman
Lubbock Symphony Orchestra – Board Member and Former President
Lubbock United Way – Former Endowment Committee Member
Texas Cotton Ginners Association – Board Member and Past Cotton Ginner of the Year
Texas Independent Ginners Association – Board Member
Independent Bankers’ Association of Texas- Past Board Member

Zach Brady – Treasurer of the Board of Directors

Board Members

Alton Brazell
Retired, Former Lubbock County Commissioner

Waylon Carroll
Principal of Texas Tech University High School
Distinguished Alumni of TTU College of Agriculture Sciences and Natural Resources

Ron Chandler
Manager/Partner at Becknell Wholesale
Lubbock Rotary Club - Member
South Plains Food Bank
St. John's United Methodist Church
Texas Wholesale Handler's Association
Farm Equipment Wholesalers Association

Vic Coker
Agricultural Real Estate Broker, Farmer
Muleshoe Rotary Club - Officer and Director
Littlefield Land Bank - Former Officer and Director

Coy Harris
Executive Director of the American Wind Power Center

Roger Haldenby
Plains Cotton Growers Vice President of Operations
Technical Advisory Committee Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation
Board Advisor West Texas Agricultural Chemicals Institute
Board member Breedlove Dehydrated Foods
Board member Texas Pest Management Association
Chairman Lubbock County Agriculture Committee
Past Chairman of Lubbock Chamber of Commerce Agriculture Committee