The Fort Bend Museum portrays Fort Bend County history from Stephen F. Austin's Colony in 1822 through World War II in 1945. The Fort Bend Museum Complex includes the Museum, the Long-Smith Cottage, the 1883 John M. Moore Home, and the McFarlane House. At the Fort Bend Museum, journey through time and experience life on the Brazos River and the Fort Bend story through dioramas and displays.
Walk through galleries representing the 1821 settlement of Spanish Texas by Anglo American colonists and the role of Stephen F. Austin in that settlement; the Texas Revolution, its causes and the role of Fort Bend County in the encampment of the Mexican Army during the battle at San Jacinto, the plantation period of the 1850s and 1860s and the importance of the thriving sugar and cotton industries; and the Civil War, which centers on the role of B. F. Terry and Terry's Texas Rangers in developing of Fort Bend County.
The Long-Smith Cottage was built between 1838 and 1840 on property owned by Jane Long, the "Mother of Texas." It was located on Jackson Street in Richmond, and was later owned by Goliad survivor Thomas Jefferson Smith (thus named Long-Smith Cottage). This cottage was moved to the museum property in 1987.
The Long-Smith Cottage, one of the oldest buildings in Richmond, is furnished to illustrate middle class life in Richmond during the 1840s and 1860s. It is built in the Greek Revival Style of braced frame construction. Furnishings include many pieces of hand-made Texas furniture, including several articles that belonged to Jane Long.
The 1883 John M. Moore Home was built in 1883 by John M. Moore (1862-1940) for his bride, Lottie Dyer. A prosperous rancher, Moore served in the state legislature and, from 1905, served in the U.S. Congress. Following his 1905 election, he remodeled the home from its original Victorian design to a neo-classical style popular in the early 20th century. Richmond's First Baptist Church was founded in the house and noted politicians and cattlemen often visited.
Architect Thomas Culshaw, a native of Liverpool, England, built the house. It is constructed of mortise and pegged heart of pine lumber with cedar siding, pine flooring and foundation blocks of bricks made in Richmond. Major remodeling was also done to the house in 1940.
The Moore Home is open Tuesday through Saturday for tours. The downstairs portion of the Moore Home is a house museum, and the upstairs contains meeting rooms and traveling exhibit space. Each December, the Fort Bend Museum docents host their popular Candlelight Tour in the Moore Home.