Entry No. 4 — the San Antonio file — filed under: oddities
Frontier Times Museum
Open since 1933, this homespun cabinet-of-curiosities museum — housed partly in the 1930s J. Marvin Hunter print shop — mixes Old West gun cases and Native American artifacts with a two-headed animal exhibit and other oddities founder Hunter collected.
The story
In 1933, publisher J. Marvin Hunter opened a museum out of his Bandera print shop, but he didn't build a orderly history exhibit. He built a true cabinet of curiosities. Hunter collected whatever strange corner of the Texas frontier passed through his hands, preserving relics without worrying about clean museum categories.
What remains at 510 13th Street is an unfiltered, glass-case-filled hall where Old West gun cases and Native American artifacts sit right beside taxidermy anomalies like a two-headed animal exhibit. You didn't hear it from us, but it feels less like a civic institution and more like stepping straight inside the hoard of a 1930s Hill Country archivist who refused to let anything odd escape.
What it's like
Stepping inside feels like entering a dense, un-curated vault where nothing has been sanitized for tourists. Instead of interactive digital displays, you will spend your time leaning over glass cabinets, scanning case by case to spot preserved taxidermy oddities sandwiched between historic revolvers, regional artwork, and pioneer tools. Confirm their open hours before driving out, then take a short walk over to Main Street for lunch in the Cowboy Capital of the World.
The move: Wander the cluttered, un-curated galleries case by case trying to out-weird each other's discovery, then walk Bandera's Main Street for a Cowboy Capital lunch.
- 📍 Bandera, TX (Cowboy Capital of the World)
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 510 13th Street, Bandera, TX 78003
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Salvador Dobbs — Drive east into Boerne after browsing the museum's glass cases to grab a nightcap hidden behind an old yarn shop exterior.
- Analytical Scientific, Ltd. — Double down on oddities by heading toward San Antonio's Far West Side for two floors of scientific supplies and articulated skeletons.
- Ruins of St. Dominic Catholic Church — Follow up this Hill Country history stop with a drive south to Hondo to walk the 1850s sandstone ruins of a pioneer church.
Good to know
What is the Frontier Times Museum?
It is a homespun cabinet-of-curiosities museum founded in 1933 by J. Marvin Hunter, housed partly in his former 1930s print shop.
Where is it located?
The museum is located at 510 13th Street in Bandera, Texas.
What kind of items are on display?
The collection includes Old West firearms, Native American artifacts, local artwork, and taxidermy oddities like a two-headed animal.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · texashighways.com · tshaonline.org
last checked: 2026-07-20