National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame

The National Cowgirl Hall of Fame was conceived in 1975 by the board of the Deaf Smith County Chamber of Commerce in Hereford, who wanted an attraction for their county seat. They began an annual All-Girl Rodeo and a hall honoring the women of professional rodeo. Margaret Formby led the drive and became founding director. The first inductees were Jackie Worthington, Sissy Thurman and Alice Greenough Orr. In 1977 the hall widened to women who advanced Western heritage, among them Sacajawea, the bootmaker Enid Justin and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

The collection outgrew a library basement and then a donated house. By 1994 Formby was looking for a new home, thirty-two cities expressed interest, and Fort Worth was chosen. The Handbook of Texas records the new building, a Tulsa Deco design by David Schwartz with an exterior mural of four galloping cowgirls, opening in the Cultural District on June 8, 2002. Sandra Day O'Connor was among that year's honorees.

The Handbook describes a Hall of Fame Rotunda ringed by medallions bearing each honoree's name, and three main galleries: rodeo and Wild West show women such as Annie Oakley and Tad Lucas, ranch women, and cowgirl actresses and singers including Dale Evans. Among its objects it names the 1933 leg cast of bronc rider Ruth Roach and an 1899 side saddle that belonged to the rancher and artist Gertrude Maxwell. The museum has announced an expansion and a public reopening on November 7, 2026.