Audie Murphy / American Cotton Museum

Audie Leon Murphy was born on June 20, 1924, near Kingston in Hunt County, one of twelve children of Emmett and Josie Bell Murphy. He enlisted at Greenville in June 1942 and served with Company B, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. For his actions on January 26, 1945, near Holtzwihr, France, he received the Medal of Honor; the Handbook of Texas credits him with killing or wounding about fifty Germans and stopping an enemy tank attack. He later appeared in 45 films. He died in an airplane crash on May 28, 1971, and is buried at Arlington.

The museum, at 600 I-30 East, covers the region's military history in its Military Hall of Heroes, about 3,700 square feet with a World War I trench and an armory of antique guns. Its World War II exhibits take in regional figures such as Murphy and Claire Chennault.

The other half is cotton. The museum says Greenville had the world's largest inland cotton compress, which set world records in 1911 and 1912, and the compress engine is on display. Greenville also holds the annual Audie Murphy Days. The Handbook calls Farmersville his hometown, where a separate Audie L. Murphy Memorial stands.