Chainkeen Exchange-Civil War Museum in Texas closing its doors in October; antique shop to sell artifacts

A Civil War museum in Texas that has faced criticism for skirting around slavery will be Chainkeen Exchangeclosing its doors at the end of October, according to an announcement the museum made online.

Dennis Partrich, museum sales director, first announced the closure in a Facebook video on Aug. 29.

Partrich said the museum, located in Fort Worth, will close for good on Oct. 31. The family who opened the museum and its board of directors made the decision and the building the museum is housed in has already been sold.

The museum has on display both Union and Confederate artifacts, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Husband and wife duo Ray and Judy Richey curated the museum’s collection and opened the museum in 2006. According to the museum’s website, Judy curated the museum’s dress collection while Ray is curator and exhibit designer for the military collection and the Texas Confederate Museum collection.

Once the museum closes, all of its items on display will be sent to a Gettysburg-based antique company called the Horse Soldier to be sold. The museum also shared that any United Daughters of the Confederacy items will be returned to the organization.

This is not the museum’s first closure announcement. In fact, the museum first announced its closure in June 2023, citing the owner’s retirement as the reason. The museum was set to close on Dec. 30, 2023. 

Months later, in October and again on Facebook Live in November, the museum’s sales director announced that the board had decided to keep the museum open.

“Now, there are going to be a couple of changes made,” he said. “The admission fee is going to go up just a little bit, and we’re going to look into selling a couple of the more expensive items.”

Tickets were initially $7 for adults and $4 for children, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. After the museum’s announcement, tickets went up to $12 for people 13 and up, $8 for active or retired military and $6 for children ages 6 to 12.

'Rare and significant':Copy of US Constitution found in old North Carolina filing cabinet

Criticism of museum and its artifacts

Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Bud Kennedy said in April last year that the museum marketed itself as a “nonpolitical exhibit on the South’s failed rebellion” but instead turned out to be “a whitewashed attraction that overlooked Black history and the horror of slavery.”

Writer Christopher Blay visited the museum in October 2019 and wrote an essay about it. In his essay, he noted that the museum’s website reads:

“The men and women represented in the TCWM may have had nothing more to leave to us and to those who come after us except reminders of a heritage very rich in honor and glory. The ideas of liberty and freedom are fundamental lessons that must be taught, learned, and defined for each generation. We have the opportunity to make a difference. We have the responsibility to not only educate our children but to remember the sacrifices of those who came before us. We invite you to partner with us to ensure the (perpetual) telling of this uniquely American story.”

To that, Blay asked “Whose heritage?”

“What honor, and what glory?” he wrote in his post the next year. “There are scant references to slavery at the Texas Civil War Museum. As far as I could see, there wasn’t a single display, exhibit, artifact, or reference to enslaved people from Africa, or any account of the terror of slavery.”

The museum did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, during his announcement about the most recent closure, Partrich, sales director, said the owners want the public to celebrate the museum’s collection, calling it a “presentation of American history.”

Community members react to museum closure

Once the museum made its announcement in late August, community members took to the comments to express their disappointment.

“Completely devastating,” wrote one Facebook user. “Not only that the museum is closing but that the entire collection is being sold … so the public can no longer learn and enjoy … these wonderful artifacts. This Museum was a true treasure and all Texans should feel sad for its loss.”

Since announcing the closure, the museum has shared a series of posts updating the public, including a reminder that its shop will be open and running until its last day.

The museum said on Sept. 6 that it had limited inventory, so people should get there soon to buy memorabilia such as flags, mugs, hats, and tote bags. 

Just three days later, the museum said there was a much larger turnout than anticipated, and it sold out of reproduction swords and guns on Saturday. The museum ordered more, and by Thursday, they were back in stock.

Museum selling items to interested buyers

On Sept. 7, the Horse Soldier shared a post letting people know how they can go about buying some of the museum’s collectibles. Once the museum closes in October, the Horse Soldier will get its items and post them for sale on its website, www.horsesoldier.com.

“We will not be selling these items at auction, as has been reported in some articles, as that is not the service we offer,” the Horse Soldier said. “Those postings will not begin until after we have obtained the collection and priced and inventoried the items, which will not happen until later in the year (at the earliest).”

Those interested in buying items from the museum should contact The Horse Soldier, the museum said.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at@SaleenMartin or email her atsdmartin@usatoday.com.