Wimberley Valley Museum to host Harvest Moon Dinner and Dance Nov. 6

Wimberley Institute of Cultures (WIC) will host its Harvest Moon Dinner and Dance on Sunday, Nov. 6. Taking place at the Historic Fischer Hall, 701 Fischer Store Road in Fischer, this event will feature a dinner catered by Old 300 BBQ from Blanco. Immediately following dinner Eric Hokkanen & Friends will provide the music for dancing under the full harvest moon. The event will also feature a silent auction.

The Harvest Moon Dinner and Dance is the fall fundraiser for the Wimberley Valley Museum. Like the Pie Social in the spring, also a WIC-organized function, WIC sponsors events that share popular Wimberley activities while preserving the heritage of the entire town and surrounding valley.

These two functions — the Fall Harvest Moon Dinner and Dance and the Pie Social — help to keep the Wimberley Valley Museum functioning.

The Wimberley Valley Museum consists of two historical homes: The Win- ters-Wimberley House, which was listed on the National Registry of Historical Places in 2002; and the Wimberley- Hughes House, listed as a Texas Historic Landmark in 2016. These two homes were incremental in the establishment of Wimberley as a mill and ultimately as a town.

Wimberley started as a trading post settlement near Cypress Creek in 1848, the year Hays County was organized. After William Carvin Winters built a gristmill at the site in 1856, it took on the name “Winters’ Mill.” When the mill was sold in 1864 to the Cude family, its name was changed to “Cude’s Mill.” It was sold again in 1874 to Pleasant Wimberley and took on his name. Over the years, the mill was expanded to process lumber, shingles, flour, molasses and cotton. The mill is gone, but the historical houses survive.

In 1880, Alfred von Stein, a postmaster from San Marcos, applied to have a post office established in the community, calling it “Wimberleyville.” The application was granted, but the name shortened to Wimberley.

Wimberley Institute of Cultures was born from the celebration of the Texas Sesquicentennial in 1986. The group that formed WIC was responsible for organizing the Bluebonnet Ball, which was the first of 12 monthly events designated by the Wimberley Chamber of Commerce to mark the celebration of the Sesquicentennial in Wimberley. Those responsible for the ball saw the need for an organization to facilitate community events that would promote local historical awareness.

As a result, WIC received a State Charter and an IRS number as a nonprofit corporation in 1987. The charter was granted to WIC for the purpose of educating the public in the history and prehistory of the Wimberley area. Its ongoing purpose today is to foster interest in the historical, natural and cultural resources of the Wimberley Valley through educational and social programs involving both young and adult members of the community. WIC owns and operates the Win-ters Wimberley House, now the Wimberley Valley Museum and the Wimberley-Hughes House. Both of these are located down from the Wimberley Community Center. The museum is open to the public and admission is free. However, donations are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.

Join WIC for an evening of food and dancing at Fischer Hall, Sunday Nov. 6 from 6 - 10 p.m. Tickets must be purchased in advance at wimwic.org. For further questions or more information, call Tom and Debra Billups at 512965-2662.

Article submitted by the Wimberley Institute of Cultures.