Located in Van Zandt County, the Heritage Park Museum is the focal point of Edgewood in North East Texas.  Covering three city blocks, the site is home to numerous community celebrations.  It is the destination of tourists in search of an historical attraction void of the hustle and bustle associated with the metropolitan areas.

  
Founded in 1976, the park is a Bi-Centennial project that continues to grow yearly.  This outdoor museum encompasses 20 authentically restored and furnished structures representing rural life in East Texas from the 1800’s to the 1920’s.

The second Saturday in November is our one-day celebration in the  Heritage Park  Museum.  The Edgewood Heritage Festival is the major fundraising effort in the Society’s quest to maintain this architectural exhibit of 20 restored and furnished structures reminiscent of rural Van Zandt County around 1900. Join us for a stroll through history with activities for all ages and celebrate 175 years of Texas history.

The park is open on Wednesday through Saturday from 9am until 12pm. Admission is $5 per person. If you have a group you would like to take on a tour, please contact the office at 903-896-1940 with the date and time you would like to schedule.

Edgewood is located on Hwy 80 just one hour (50 miles) east of Dallas.  From Tyler and Longview take Interstate 20 to FM 859 and go north about 10 miles.

Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the school tours are temporarily suspended. Personal, self-guided tour is available on Wednesdays to Saturdays. Call the office (903-896-1940), Wednesday-Saturday, 9 – 12.

Heritage Park Museum with more than 20 restored and furnished circa 1900 buildings, is the perfect site for school tours.

The museum’s education program which is designed for third to eighth grade students, offers tours of log cabins and business establishments depicting rural life around 1900, as well as different modes of travel, and an extensive antique tool collection.  The tour will offer the student a glimpse of the past, as the one to two hour learning experience includes demonstrations by costumed docents. 

Large tours are divided into groups of ten to fifteen to provide students the opportunity to experience a “hands-on” time during the visit.  Students are also given ten minutes in the museum’s gift shop where crafts and unique period items are available. Frequently, teachers elect to PICNIC at the museum and adequate facilities are available. 

Fall tours are usually scheduled in September and October.  Spring tours are given in March, April and May.  We encourage making reservation early as the popular months of October, April, and May are usually heavily booked. 

When planning field trips, please consider this historic village and book reservations by calling Linda Cline at 903-896-4220 or by emailing her at Lcline0316 @gmail.com.  Please provide contact information in all correspondence including contact person, school name, telephone number and email address. 

Admission: $5.00 

For your personal pleasure, we recommend visiting the museum the second Saturday in November for our annual EDGEWOOD HERITAGE FESTIVAL. Admission is free on this Saturday.

The church, built in 1897 by the local Methodist congregation is referred to as “Church in the Wildwood”, a name commonly used by the Methodists in 1900.  It was their house of worship until 1923 when the building was given to the African-American community in Edgewood, where it served as the spiritual center for the Bethlehem Baptist congregation until March, 1993.  In May of that year the Edgewood Historical Society purchased and moved the building to the Heritage Park Museum.  Restoration, made possible through a grant from the Meadows Foundation, was completed in March, 1994. The building features a bell tower and bell which beckoned members to worship and was also a means to alert the community to fires and storm.

Church in the Wildwood is considered the jewel of Heritage Park as it represents Edgewood’s religious heritage spanning more than 100 years.  It is still used for various life celebrations, weddings being the most popular. 

Imagine your wedding in a beautiful white historic church. Your experience begins when you pose for engagement photos in the gazebo. Then your wedding will take on a magical quality inside The Church in the Wildwood. From your unique ceremony to the fun reception in a historic building, everyone at Edgewood Heritage Society will help you create your perfect day. Call 903 896-1940 today and watch your dreams and wishes come true. Follow us on Facebook!