New Fort Worth museum exhibit honors Cynthia Ann Parker’s life with Comanche tribe

An upcoming exhibit at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is set to honor Cynthia Ann Parker and her Native American heritage.

The permanent exhibit opens on Friday at the museum titled, “One Story, One Tribe: Cynthia Ann Parker’s Life In The Southern Plains.” The exhibit will showcase Parker’s history and life with the Comanche tribe, including a bison robe that hasn’t been on display in Texas in over 50 years.

In 1833, Parker and her family moved to Texas and built Fort Parker near Waco in what is now Limestone County. Three years later in 1836, Comanche warriors attacked the fort and captured Parker, according to the Texas State Historical Association.

Parker would spend the next 24 years with the Comanche tribe, eventually marrying Peta Nocona and having two sons and a daughter. In 1860, Parker and her infant daughter were abducted by Texas Rangers in an attack on the Comanche encampment.

While Parker was reunited with her original family, she struggled to readjust and attempted numerous escapes back to her Comanche family. In 1871, Parker died and was buried east of Waco in Anderson County.

Parker’s legacy lived on in her son Quanah Parker, who went on to become one of the most influential leaders in Comanche history.

Cynthia Ann Parker is also a National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame inductee in the class of 1998. The Fort Worth Cowgirl museum honors influential women who shaped the American west.

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History’s “One Story, One Tribe: Cynthia Ann Parker’s Life In The Southern Plains” opens on Friday. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday from noon-5 p.m. and closed on Monday at 1600 Gendy St.