Five years, more than 10 volunteers and thousands of hours.

That’s the quickest overview of what many people, including Quitman Library Director Delene Allen and the Elizabeth Denton English Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), have put into the new Ima Hogg Museum.

Ima Hogg was far beyond someone with a “unique” name. Hogg was the daughter of James Stephen Hogg, the “Jim Hogg” for whom Quitman’s City Park is named and himself the first native-born governor of Texas.

Throughout her lifetime, Ima became an extraordinarily generous and even legendary person; among many other projects, Hogg established the Houston Symphony Orchestra, helped source historic furniture for the White House due to her reputation for art acquisition and founded the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.

Ima Hogg’s amazing legacy, says Allen, is part of why the museum has a focus on her. Although the museum does have an emphasis on the life and philanthropy of Hogg, it also heavily features other Quitman/East Texas history.

The museum features such interesting items as handwritten notes from Ima, photographs of early, notable families from Quitman, Governor Hogg’s personal rocking chair and autographed movie scripts from Quitman-born actress Sissy Spacek. 

Through the generosity of many local citizens, who gave financial donations and donations of items, the hometown museum is able to feature beautiful items like a $35,000 table grand piano that belonged to Ima or an original, functional carriage from 1842.

“(These things) need to be displayed; they need to be out of the boxes,” said Allen. “The younger generation needs to see these things.”

Here’s the funny thing: according to Allen, Ima Hogg herself commissioned, in 1969, the beautiful brick building where the museum honoring her now sits.

Hogg’s original vision for the building was of a museum that could “collect the stories” of her family and of her beloved Wood County, Texas.

Though the building sat vacant after her death, and the museum exhibits were then dismantled and stored away, local citizens are now restoring it to Hogg’s vision.

Wood County residents who are friends and family of beloved local Larry Tucker will also be glad to know that Tucker has been hired as the Ima Hogg Museum docent through an AARP grant called the Senior Community Service Employment Program.

“There’s a lot about (Hogg) that a lot of people don’t know,” said Tucker. “She went on to do great things.”

After a grand opening on Wednesday, Oct. 29 – during the Quitman Old Settlers Reunion – the museum will be open free of admission to walk-in visitors from Wednesday to Sunday. The museum will be open from 10-3 Wednesday through Friday and 10-1:30 on Saturday and Sunday. Visit “The Honeymoon Cottage & Ima Hogg Museum” Facebook page for more information.