The Robert E. Howard Museum sits on the edge of Cross Plains, Texas, population 986. It’s the home of the late Robert E. Howard, the creator of numerous fantasy and western stories that are treasured and revered both in Cross Plains and across the world. Many of us are familiar with Conan the Barbarian, one of Howard’s signature creations, but few know that Howard grew up and wrote these iconic stories in Texas. The museum is a small house with a white picket fence around it, an old-fashioned front porch, and a sign on the front that says, “Dr. Howard,” referring to Robert E. Howard’s father, Dr. Isaac Howard.

The house that Howard lived in has been preserved and cultivated by Project Pride, a local civic organization of Cross Plains. Inside are displays of the books Howard read, period-appropriate furniture and decorations, a replica of Howard’s typewriter, medical paraphernalia that belonged to his father, and old letters and manuscripts written in Howard’s own hand.