BEAUMONT, Texas — A new Beaumont history exhibit that explores the racketeering and raucousness in post-WWII Jefferson County will be on display at the Jefferson County Courthouse.
Beaumont Heritage Society announced in a press release on Wednesday of their first rotating exhibit, “The James Commission,” to be held in the mini-museum located inside the Jefferson County Courthouse.
The exhibit is intended to educate the public regarding the rise in organized criminal activities in 1950s and 1960s Beaumont, including local and federal government’s response over time, according to the release.
The exhibit will highlight a variety of Beaumont's notorious criminals, from an ex-sheriff chased out of town and a young lawyer looking to make his mark to a madam of the most infamous brothels in Texas in post-WWII Jefferson County, and how the local government responded.
The exhibit will be available for viewing during business hours, beginning Wednesday, November 1, 2023 and running through Friday, January 26, 2024, at 1149 Pearl Street.
Museum Educator, Alexandria Barney, and Chambers House Docent, Melanie Karr, have collaborated with other BHS staff and members of the Beaumont community to gather materials and information.
“It’s been a group effort. The goal is to be part of the courthouse’s regular schedule, presenting quarterly exhibits on subjects to pique Beaumonters’ interest and encourage the education of local history," Barney said.
The Beaumont Heritage Society is a non-profit, organized for educational and civic purposes to preserve and interpret the historic collections of the John Jay French House Museum and the Chambers House Museum to foster a connection to Beaumont’s history and inspire others to value preservation and heritage for the benefit of the community.
Barney and Karr have enlisted the help of Beaumont Police Department, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the Jefferson County Historical Commission, Gilbert Adams law offices, Christina Crawford/owners of the Dixie Hotel, as well as using the content found in Wandra Landrey and Laura O’Toole’s 2006 publication, “Betting, Booze, and Brothels: Vice, Corruption, and Justice in Jefferson County, Texas, From Spindletop to the 1960s," to compile the exhibit's contents.
Visitors to the exhibit will need to come through the main entrance of the courthouse and enter a short security checkpoint. From there, walk up the ramp to the immediate right of the elevators and walk down the corridor until visitors see the seal in the floor.
The exhibit will be to the right in the old foyer. Signs will also be present to help direct visitors to the display.
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