Discover Eastland: History, Culture, and Special Events

Eastland combines unusual local history with culture, events, and attractions. The city is located on Interstate 20, making it a logical starting point for a trip during which you can combine museums, historic buildings, theaters, and distinctive local traditions.

Old Rip and the History of Eastland

One of the city's most unusual stories revolves around Old Rip, a famous horned toad. The Eastland County Courthouse is his final resting place; Old Rip's glass coffin is also still on display there. A statue commemorating the local celebrity stands in a new pocket park near the courthouse. The courthouse itself stands out with its Art Deco architecture, featuring a stepped massing, a central tower, and elaborate terra-cotta ornamentation.

The Eastland County Museum also focuses on the history of Eastland County. In addition to the permanent exhibition, it has rooms for temporary and traveling exhibitions. For families interested in regional family histories, the Genealogy Room offers another way to explore the area: it contains family histories from Eastland County, obituaries, yearbooks, and cemetery records. Opened at the end of 2024, the room has computer and internet access for research and is open Thursday through Saturday during the museum's regular hours, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Museums, Theaters, and Historic Buildings

The Eastland Law Enforcement Museum is housed in the former county jail, built in 1897. It displays numerous artifacts and memorabilia relating to the history of Eastland County and law enforcement. The historic site is also associated with the story that the former jail once housed one of the notorious Santa Claus Bank Robbers in 1927.

At the Majestic Theatre, built in 1920 and fully equipped for stage productions, Eastland now shows feature films from Friday through Monday. The program also includes classic film screenings, concerts, conferences, school and religious events, as well as traveling stage productions for children and adults. The Lyric Art Center is located on historic Old Rip Square in a building that served as the Lyric Movie Theatre and Campbell's General Store in the 1930s. Its offerings include musical events, dance classes, art exhibitions, and community dances.

The Burkett House, a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark featuring Spanish Colonial Revival elements, and the Connellee House, whose basement was built of wood in 1876 using lumber transported from Dallas by ox wagon, provide further insight into the area's architectural and cultural history. Eastland's brick street is a 1.1-mile section of brick roadway through the city.

Festivals, Art, and Recreation

Held annually at Old Rip Square, RipFest combines a 5-kilometer run, a large parade, vendor booths, live entertainment, a kids' mile, a car show, and numerous food offerings. The annual Rip's Ribs Cook-Off also takes place at Old Rip Square, while Rip's Wine Festival is held in downtown Eastland.

For more relaxed activities, there are the Grimes Memorial Garden, with bronze statues, fountains, an open courtyard, and a covered terrace, and City Park, one of Eastland's three public parks. The Lumber Yard Event Center can accommodate up to 250 guests and opens onto the covered terrace of the Grimes Memorial Garden. The reproductions in the Outdoor Art Museum each include information about the artist's background or the respective art style. By 2015, it comprised 42 works of art distributed throughout Eastland.

About seven miles south of Eastland lies Leon Reservoir, which is also used for recreation. This makes it possible to combine a stay focused on local history and culture with some time by the water. If you would like to explore more places in the same region, you can find Cisco, Gorman, Ranger here.

For the overarching travel overview: Eastland County.