Today we’d like to introduce you to Charla Harris.
Charla, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I spent many summers at the Village with my Dad as a youth, so it holds many childhood memories. As an adult I started coming to the Village several years ago with my son and his Boy Scout Troop while they did various projects. It was during that time that I was asked to first volunteer and then become a caretaker for one of the homes. Eventually I was asked to join the Board of Directors and became the President of the Board in November of 2017.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been a smooth road. There were many setbacks from the very beginning. Financially the Village was struggling, and due to lack of money and volunteers, the homes in the Village had not been maintained for many years. We inherited approximately $100,000 in repairs that needed to be performed immediately and no money or volunteers to achieve that goal. The community had forgotten that we existed, and even some people that had grown up in our town didn’t know that we were there.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Frontier Village story. Tell us more about the business.
We are a 501(c) 3 non-profit charity that is dedicated to preserving the historical homes in our care and educating the community on life in Grayson County in the 1800’s. 11 of the oldest homes in Grayson County, Texas have been moved to our 14 acre compound to form a Village and each are decorated with artifacts from that time period. We also have 6 replicas and several outbuildings in our care. In addition, we have an indoor museum, a community room which we rent to individuals and other groups, and have recently become the central repository for genealogy records in Grayson County. We are most proud of the fact that as a team we have been able to begin bringing people back to our museum and interest in the community has started to grow. We now many events and activities, and have increased our traffic and membership both by over 150% since November 2017. Doing this has allowed us to begin making the much needed repairs to the properties. We are unique in the fact that we offer the history of the entire Grayson County area and that we have more homes in our care then most site museums in Texas.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck is what brought us all to the Village. Being in the right place at the right time, however hard work is what has made this place special and unique.
Pricing:
- Adults $4
- Ages 6-18yrs = $2
- Ages 5 & under are free.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.graysoncofrontiervillage.us
- Phone: (903) 463-2487
- Email: gcfrontiervillage@gmail.com
- Facebook: @FrontierVillageofGraysonCo
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
