10 Best Things To Do In Corsicana, Texas

1. Cumbie Aviation Museum

Editor's Note: Photo taken from the establishment's official social account

Named after Glenn Cumbie, an aviation pioneer in Texas, the Cumbie Aviation Museum is where to go if you’re interested in learning about the rich aviation history of the Corsicana Municipal Airport. The museum comprises two rooms, a hangar, and the U.S.A.A.F. Cadet Memorial Plaza, all featuring exhibits that are associated with the region’s aviation and military history.

Some of the displays you can see here include a collection of old and new uniforms, various aircraft engines, periodicals, manuals, and a monument that honors WW2 airmen who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Cumbie Aviation Museum

Address: 9000 Navarro Rd. Corsicana, TX 75109

Website: Cumbie Aviation Museum

Opening hours: Mon - Sat: 8am - 5pm (closed on Sun)

2. Corsicana Garden

Editor's Note: There's no photo available at the time of writing

Located in the heart of the city close to the community park, Corsicana Garden is a local favorite restaurant that offers sumptuous Asian dishes that will surely satisfy your cravings for noodles, rice, and dumplings. The restaurant is known for serving the best lo mein and chow mein in town.

Some of the other must-try dishes here include Mongolian beef, pork fried rice, kung pao chicken, egg rolls, and all sorts of dumplings—all freshly cooked to order to ensure top quality dishes every time.

Corsicana Garden

Address: 111 Northwood Blvd, Corsicana, TX 75110, United States

Opening hours: Mon - Fri: 11am - 8pm (closed on Sat & Sun)

3. Oakwood Cemetery

Oakwood Cemetery is a historical landmark that dates back to the early 1800s. What draws many tourists here is mainly the diversity of gravesites including more than 500 veterans of the Civil War that are laid to rest here. Besides its historical significance, the cemetery features many architectural beauties which include fountains. Oakwood Cemetery is also a place for contemplation and reflection thanks to the tranquility of the natural beauty surrounding the area.

So on your next visit to Corsicana, Texas, and you just want to a have a peaceful time by yourself, be sure to visit Oakwood Cemetery.

Oakwood Cemetery

Address: 700 N 15th Street Corsicana, TX 75110

Website: Oakwood Cemetery

Opening hours: 7am - 7pm (daily)

4. Pearce Museum at Navarro College

Find the dispirited letters written by Colonel Joshua Chamberlain to his wife from the Antietam battlefield and Howard Terpning’s artistic visualization of a Native American grandfather passing wisdom to his grandchildren. The collections here at the Pearce Museum will give you the opportunity to understand the improbable sacrifices of the American soul, and the conversion of the American morality through the end of the 19th-century.

Pearce Museum is divided into two separate exhibition zones. The first is The Civil War Gallery which contains interactive involvement developed to offer visitors a humanistic perspective of the Civil War, counting the problems, origins, clashes, leaders, and predicaments of the common soldier, the home front, and the repercussion. There are presently more than 15,000 documents concerning the Civil War collection.

The second exhibition zone is the Western Art Gallery which features work of art portraying numerous characteristics of the historical and contemporary Western encounters of the pioneers, the cowboys, the Red Indians and the settlers. There are around 228 articles of fascination included in the Western Art collection.

Pearce Museum at Navarro College

Address: Pearce Museum at Navarro College, 3100 W. Collin St., Corsicana, TX 75110

Phone: +1 9038757642

Website: Pearce Museum

5. Petroleum Park

Petroleum Park and oil derrick therein mark the “Birthplace of the Texas Oil Industry”. The first oil discovery in Texas leading to commercial oil production was made on this site in 1894 while drilling for water. Soon after, the first commercial oilfield in Texas developed from this discovery well east across residential Corsicana. By the 1900s, the Corsicana town oilfield started providing 800,000 barrels of oil per annum with over 600 operating wells getting established within the city.

Within the Petroleum Park are erected memorials and exhibits during the era of the first oil discovery in the region. Check out the Cooper Double Drum Pulling Unit used to service the Navarro County oil wells in the 1950s. Also on exhibit is the oil field cannon which once stood at the Magnolia Petroleum tank farm and was used to shoot a hole in the bottom of the cypress tanks to drain out the oil in a pit around the tank to be pumped away in case of any lightning striking the tank.

6. Pioneer Village

If you’re looking for some entertainment in Corsicana, TX, check out Pioneer Village Historical Museum. It is a simulation of the pioneer days in Corsicana and Navarro County with a library of information about the region. The Pioneer Village consists of pioneer era buildings huddled in a city park around a watering hole and includes houses, general stores, blacksmith shops, a trading post and slave quarters among others belonging to the mid and late 1800s.

It is also houses the Lefty Frizzell Statue and Museum. Lefty Frizzell was an American country music singer-songwriter and honky-tonk singer, who set the style of country singing for the next generation. The Lefty Frizzell Museum at Pioneer Village also features other country western stars from that era from Texas. Lefty’s signature costumes and boots designed by Nudies Western Tailor are highlighted prominently behind glass cases.

Pioneer Village Historical Museum

Address: 912 W. Park Ave., Corsicana, TX 75110

Phone: +1 9036544846

Hours: Monday - Friday: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Sunday: 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Website: City of Corsicana

7. Watkins Wildlife Trophy Room

Situated in the headquarters of the Watkins Construction Company, this assortment of wild life trophies incorporates animals from all over the world. The Trophy Room comprises over 400 animals in its museum. According to Carmack Watkins, the collection started when he was stationed in Munich, Germany towards the end of World War 2 where he shot a pheasant and had it stuffed and sent back home. That was the beginning of the exhaustive personal collection which contains wild life specimens from a large grizzly bear to a 6-ton pachyderm’s head famously known as the Black Diamond.

The Watkins Wildlife Trophy Room is open to the public during business hours and, if you are lucky to have Mr Watkins in the vicinity, he is most gracious to tell you the story behind every article in his trophy room for free! It is definitely worth the trip to check out all the cool things that he has accumulated and then again, way cooler to learn the stories behind them.

Watkins Wildlife Trophy Room

Address: Watkins Construction Co., 3229 S. 15th St., Corsicana, TX 75110

Phone: +1 9038746587

Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm

Website: City of Corsicana

8. Capehart Communications Collection

The Capehart Communications Collection is an exclusive collection of communications equipment and telephones that extend numerous ages from the close of the Victorian Age to modern times. It also houses various media articles such as magazines, posters, and records, and other gadgets and gems used throughout the history of the communication evolution. The collection illustrates the history of a major electrical company, Western Electric, and its dynamic role in evolving the telecommunication business.

Begun in 1984, the collection has grown into one of the nation’s largest privately owned museums of its kind. Western Electric was the manufacturing arm of the Bell System. You can view all the products manufactured through the years by Western Electric Company including documents and collectables from Bell Labs and AT&T. As remarkable as the collection is, the actual treat is the personalized trip given by Don or Rita and the tales of originality and invention behind the artifacts, making the past exciting for all ages. Tours are arranged as per appointment only by contacting the owners.

Capehart Communications Collection

Address: 409 S. Ninth St., Corsicana, TX 75110-6502

Phone: +1 9038720440

Email: ritaanddoncapehart@sbcglobal.net

Website: Capehart Communications Collection

9. Navarro Mills Lake

If you’re thinking about what to do in Corsicana, TX, here’s one that might interest you. Navarro Mills Lake has always been a properly kept secret of the Fort Worth District. This beautiful lake is snuggled amidst the rolling hills between Hillsboro and Corsicana additionally surrounded by the age-old oak & pecan trees. Escape the crowded lakes and visit Navarro Mills Lake for that memorable weekend getaway!

The lake holds the present state record for crappie, and fishermen come from all over to sample some of the best crappie fishing here. Navarro Mills Lake presents opportunities for fishing, camping, hunting, boating, hiking and other events available in the parks. The vivid collection of native flowers attracts visitors from all over to the lake area during the spring. Bluebonnets, paintbrushes and a myriad of other native plants transform the often-bleak winter landscape into an incredible palette of colors.

Navarro Mills Lake

Address: 1225 FM 667, Purdon, TX 76679

Phone: +1 2545781431

Website: Navarro Mills Lake

10. Angelita Vineyard & Winery

Relish a wine tasting, wine flight, wine by the glass or a bottle after selecting your favorite Angelita Vineyard wine. Angelita Vineyard and Winery provides numerous appetizers offered in their menu that also include a cheese plate with a variety of delectable and exclusive types of cheese.

So, take a seat in their wine tasting area and enjoy their wines made from their very own vineyards whilst listening to soft music playing in the background. You can also choose to sit outside and view the gorgeous Texas sunset directly over several acres of their Blanc Du Bois vines. Be sure to check out their holiday specials, harvest parties and music events hosted at the venue before visiting their vineyard and winery.

Angelita Vineyard & Winery

Address: 254 Shady Creek Lane, Angus, Corsicana, TX 75109

Phone: +1 9038750036

Email : BeverlySpahn@hotmail.com

Website: Angelita Winery

Be surprised by Corsicana's achievements

You’re probably thinking “What is Corsicana, Texas, famous for?” Well, the quick answer would be “A lot of things!” The long answer, however, you can find in this list. Passing by the Interstate 45, you wouldn’t guess Corsicana is home to the nation’s foremost Civil War museums, the first commercial oil wells or an interactive village dedicated to Navarro County, Texas history. The Pearce Museum, Civil War & Western Art Collections, the Petroleum Industry Park and the Pioneer Village offer visitors a glimpse of Corsicana’s past, present and future by engaging them and enthralling them with their charm.