McFaddin-Ward House Museum Lecture Series Presents “America 250: A Beaumont History” by Judith Walker Linsley
Join the McFaddin-Ward House Museum for “America 250: A Beaumont History,” a free public lecture presented by Judith Walker Linsley on Thursday, November 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the Museum’s Visitor Center Lecture Hall (1906 Calder Avenue, Beaumont).
In commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary, Linsley, a sixth-generation Southeast Texan and local historian, will explore the fascinating story of Beaumont, beginning with the indigenous Ishak people and traveling through the Texas Revolution, 1901 Spindletop oil boom, and technological and industrial expansions leading up to the modern day.
For nearly four decades, Linsley has been a member of the McFaddin-Ward House Museum staff, serving in a range of roles in interpretation, education, curation, and research, including her current role as research assistant. She has also conducted more than 100 oral history interviews for the Museum.
A Lamar University alumna with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a Master of Arts in History, Linsley served as the second director of Lamar’s Center for History and Culture of Southeast Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast and has been an adjunct instructor of both Texas and U.S. history at Lamar.
She has co-authored three books, including the award-winning Giant Under the Hill: A History of the Spindletop Oil Discovery at Beaumont, Texas, in 1901 (2002) and The McFaddin-Ward House (1992), and numerous historical articles.
McFaddin-Ward House Museum lectures are admission-free and open to the public, but space is limited. Doors open at 6 p.m. For more information, call 409-832-2134.
For those unable to attend, the full lecture will be available for viewing on the Museum YouTube Channel (youtube.com/@mcfaddinwardhouse), Facebook (facebook.com/McFaddinWardHouse), and website (mcfaddin-ward.org/about/videos) after the event.
The lecture is part of Southeast Texas 250, a regional initiative to commemorate the U.S. Semiquincentennial celebration. Led by the Beaumont Heritage Society, Southeast Texas 250 brings together museums, historical organizations, schools, civic groups, and local governments throughout the region to celebrate the people, places, and stories that have shaped Southeast Texas and its role in the broader American story.