Neill-Cochran House Museum

06/18/2026

In honor of Juneteenth, this weekend, Friday, June 19 – Sunday, June 21, the Neill-Cochran House Museum offers free admission all day.

We'd love to see you on Sunday, June 21, for our Juneteenth Celebration at the NCHM, 12:00pm - 4:00pm! It will be a joyful day of barbecue, live music, guided tours, and family fun, concluding with the dedication of our new Toni Morrison Society Bench by the Road.

Learn more here: www.nchmuseum.org/nchm-events/juneteenth-2026

Free parking is available in the lot behind the Museum accessible from 23rd Street between San Gabriel and Leon. We expect a big crowd on Sunday, so if you can't find parking in the lot there is free street parking throughout the surrounding neighborhood.

06/16/2026

The passion vine (Passiflora species) is the exclusive host plant for the Gulf Fritillary butterfly (Agraulis vanillae), meaning their caterpillars can only survive by eating its leaves. Because Gulf Fritillaries rely entirely on this relationship, they are common visitors to gardens with passion vines.

Female butterflies lay single eggs on the tendrils or leaves of the vine. The eggs hatch into voracious, reddish-orange spiky caterpillars that strip leaves rapidly. While the caterpillars may look intimidating and defoliate the vine, passion vines are aggressive growers and typically bounce back quickly without dying.

Avoid using insecticides or pesticides near your passion vine, as this will kill the caterpillars and other beneficial insects.

See the passion vine in our Historic Teaching Garden during Museum opening hours, Wed-Sun 11am-4pm.

06/16/2026

Tickets are on sale now! Celebrate 5 centuries of Indigenous and American music.

06/16/2026

Tickets are on sale now for this America 250 music show! Three performances - Three nights (Fri, Sat, & Sun)

06/14/2026

Juneteenth celebrations are happening across Texas! Spectrum News 1 Texas highlights commemorations, festivities, and art exhibitions all around the Lone Star State honoring this important national holiday.

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/austin/news/2026/06/14/juneteenth

They sat down with the NCHM's Rowena Dasch to discuss next Sunday's Juneteenth Celebration at the Museum where there will be barbecue, live music, tours, activities, and the dedication of Austin's first Toni Morrison Society "Bench by the Road."

Please join us on Sunday, June 21 | 12:00pm - 4:00pm. Lunch from Distant Relatives will be available from noon until we run out. Guided tours will be starting every 15 minutes from noon until 2:00pm. There will be live gospel and jazz performances. And the Bench by the Road dedication will start at 3:00pm.

Limited free parking is available in the lot behind the Museum with more street parking in the surrounding neighborhood. See you there!

Juneteenth marks the proclamation of freedom for the last enslaved African Americans. This week, we’ll explore how Texans are celebrating Juneteenth with the help of civic and cultural advocates and community leaders working to preserve history and unite Texans.

06/14/2026

We've been cooking up the purple hull peas in the NCHM Teaching Garden, and they are tasty indeed.

Purple hull peas originally came to the United States with the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and were grown and eaten by enslaved people across the Southern United States.

They are sometimes known as “cowpeas” because they became popular livestock feed during this period, particularly as they replenished nutrients in over-farmed soil.

They are similar to black-eyed peas in flavor and use, though somewhat more delicate in texture. They do not require staking, and will grow to approximately 30 inches at maturity.

06/11/2026

The NCHM celebrates America 250 all summer long with a series of fun, original events that includes something for everyone.

Visit nchmuseum.org/events for more event info and to purchase tickets for ticketed events. Let's make this milestone one for the history books!

06/07/2026

This afternoon, Katie Robinson Edwards - UMLAUF Sculpture Garden & Museum (former NCHM Advisory Council member) was awarded the Austin History Center Association Katherine Drake Hart Award honoring excellence in preserving Austin history.

Here Dr. Edwards is presented the award by AHCA Board President (and current NCHM Advisory Council member) Charles Peveto and AHCA Co-founder Martha Hartzog.

Congratulations Katie!

06/01/2026

How does our garden grow? Quite well, thank you. With purple hull peas, okra, plumbago, and basil... that we didn't actually plant but came back from last year.

Ok, so we need to work on our poetic meter. But our dinner plates are looking very promising!

05/30/2026

"Nearly 500 years ago, a Moroccan man, known to us now only as Estevanico (or Esteban), walked thousands of miles from Florida to the Pacific Coast, becoming the first known outsider to see the American West."

"Between 1528 and 1536, Estevanico walked roughly 2,250 miles west from Florida to the Pacific Coast of Mexico, completing what is widely believed to be the first recorded crossing of North America in history and predating Lewis and Clark's overland expedition to the Oregon Coast by nearly 300 years. Along the way, he was captured by Native Americans, learned their languages and became a healer before journeying an additional 1,300 miles south with the three other shipwreck survivors from the Gulf of California to Mexico City. He then embarked on a separate 1,500-mile odyssey north, and became the first known non-Native American to enter modern-day New Mexico and Arizona."

Nearly 500 years ago, a Moroccan man walked thousands of miles from Florida to the Pacific Coast, becoming the first known outsider to see the American West.