8 Spots to Experience History (For Free!) in Dallas
With so much to see and do in Dallas, treat yourself to a history lesson and tour some of the best historic attractions in the city.
Study Dallas History
History buffs will love the more than 3 million historic documents and three-dimensional objects on display at the Hall of State located at Fair Park – home to the largest collection of 1930s art deco exposition style architecture in the North America.
Give Thanks
Thanks-Giving Square is a private, interfaith and educational venue welcoming people of all nations, culture and religious traditions. The unique spiral-shaped building is the “Home of American Thanksgiving” and features a nearby meditation garden.
Stop By The Juanita Craft Civil Rights House
Dedicated to the civil rights activist Juanita J. Craft, this historic home sits in South Dallas and provides a cultural and educational experience with tons of memorabilia on display. The house can be scheduled for touring by appointment only and is one of only three house museums in the nation honoring major female figures in the modern civil rights movement.
![](https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/0Z2A0981.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=d5387e8d5a12dce60882f8b907dc3f3b 320w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/0Z2A0981.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=4edce053048308cb46eac315150eb90e 540w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/0Z2A0981.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=c055014ae485bbbdc945e2455b45cd68 768w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/0Z2A0981.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=e64327e3b7f13b72b48e8f49b5b75ed7 1024w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/0Z2A0981.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=088627dc9c4dcd06b9b03e4c60a051a7 1200w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/0Z2A0981.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=bf5bb9a6e5ff18e9f988d5169f8f2844 1440w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/0Z2A0981.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=3a9fb371e5fa173236b0eb560dfde122 1920w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/0Z2A0981.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=337da7b63d476bd50dd1fa393ff0d18b 2500w)
View The Grassy Knoll
Just outside the former School Book Depository is the infamous ‘grassy knoll' where an indelible mark was left on history. Nearby is the John F. Kennedy Memorial. Designed by family friend, Phillip Johnson, the memorial is an open-roofed, concrete-walled monument symbolic of an open tomb.
Pay Tribute
Just one block away from Dealey Plaza is the John F. Kennedy Memorial which honors the late President with a simple-designed monument that’s open for public viewing daily. Stop by after a visit to the Sixth Floor Museum for a time of reflection.
![](https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/attractions/Sixth-Floor-Museum.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=394a45e6354adc1f19cf66a55e94f6a4 320w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/attractions/Sixth-Floor-Museum.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=3c333c0b46fc1a86c379e17e0fdd1bd7 540w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/attractions/Sixth-Floor-Museum.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=e98f8d6db9b1dc8d26afdb2c3f2870d1 768w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/attractions/Sixth-Floor-Museum.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=a8610d899a29b3ccf9efa3f2661c0f41 1024w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/attractions/Sixth-Floor-Museum.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=33e74acaf88adb631d6c52b8ea85ceb6 1200w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/attractions/Sixth-Floor-Museum.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=c6e7a2c1a901f6034f52208c878583be 1440w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/attractions/Sixth-Floor-Museum.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=d0c06749b612a8ddc827b0f1bf482cff 1920w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/attractions/Sixth-Floor-Museum.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=631c3640f71975e353adfd17a7b10a29 2100w)
Explore Dallas’ Heritage
Less than one mile north of downtown Dallas, is Freedmen's Cemetery Memorial, a pre-Civil War burial ground in what was once the Freedmen's Town Area–a small Dallas community formed by African-Americans freed from slavery in the mid-1860s.
See The Real Dallas Cowboys
A growing number of larger-than-life steers and their cowboy escorts move along the Shawnee Trail during the 1850s in this never-ending cattle drive; the largest bronze monument of its kind in the world located in Pioneer Plaza.
Cure Your Cabin Fever
When city founder John Neely Bryan first camped along the Trinity River, he probably never imagined that his log cabin would garner so much interest. But today a replica of Bryan’s original cabin stands in Founders Plaza, in downtown Dallas.
![dozens of life-size bronze cattle sculptures on dirt and in water at Pioneer Plaza](https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/outdoors/Pioneer_Plaza.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=8e66b9ba7155cd291a4c9db8f3344692 320w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/outdoors/Pioneer_Plaza.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=891f883fd7bebe545db8c7ea152694cf 540w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/outdoors/Pioneer_Plaza.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=4117eff7e497d819e05fc7604a66be6f 768w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/outdoors/Pioneer_Plaza.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=223eca84cee4a767811cb1ca284e7504 1024w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/outdoors/Pioneer_Plaza.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=30e386ee76af70dac43c560131f5b83b 1200w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/outdoors/Pioneer_Plaza.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=951aa60379a1c68df233ced8c803face 1440w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/outdoors/Pioneer_Plaza.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=6e3e69d1398a25975f2ecd291b272c09 1920w, https://visit-dallas.imgix.net/images/things-to-do/outdoors/Pioneer_Plaza.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=a143188b6a7bfce3e4eae930533c8ba4 2100w)