Orangefield Cormier Museum

A 1920’S ERA VILLAGE

This museum is the dream of an oilman who grew up poor. The times were hard. His family, as well as many other families in the community, had to do without many things. When he was older, he wanted people to see how it really was in the “good old days.” He started gathering every imaginable piece of rural America he could find.

He created, in a plain metal warehouse, a 1920’s village that contains places like a jail, a bank, a saloon, a boarding house, a post office, a dentist office, a school, a general store, and a soda fountain.

This small town would represent not only old Orangefield, but also many other small country towns all across the south. The work and planning that went into building this town was nothing short of brilliant. Each room representing a particular building is built to last forever in a controlled air environment. Most of the village is built with lumber from old buildings that were torn down in old Orangefield. The bank is built with materials stripped from one of the beautiful banks of the 1900 - 1930 eras.

Each of the rooms in the building is equipped with materials from the late 1800’s to the 1960’s: a restaurant ready to serve food to the oil men, a boarding house ready for a new shift of men to sleep, and the Cormier Tool Shop with tools used in the Orange oil field.

Pictures of the Orange oil field are found all over the museum. A power point presentation uses an audio of Paul Cormier describing the Orange oil field pictures taken during this period of history.

If you had relatives that worked in the Orange oil field, you may find them in the Cormier Museum.

THE SECOND BUILDING

In the second building one room salutes an Orangefield School building which was affectionately referred to as the Alamo. This school was built in 1928 and served students in the first grade through graduation, until the Orangefield Elementary was built in 1955. Portions of the exterior brick wall were actually cut from the old school when newer buildings in the late 80’s and early 90’s replaced it. Dedication plaques for the Alamo and McLewis Elementary are prominently displayed on the wall. The inside displays old school books, and lunch boxes of the period.

Across from the school the Orangefield Skating Rink built in 1956 is located. This section includes part of the original wooden floor and cubbyholes filled with the original leather boot-type roller skates that people rented. “I always said Daddy built the skating rink to keep us in Orangefield,” Carlene, Paul’s daughter, said. “He probably didn’t want us driving to the big city of Orange a few miles away where carhops at one of the drive-in restaurants wore halter tops.”
In some of the glass display cases hundreds of old pocket-knives and straight razors are displayed. Other rooms in this building are dedicated to musical instruments, audio-visual machines, the office of Paul Cormier, and toys (thousands of model cars, trucks, airplanes, and more). It was said that as a boy Paul Cormier only received one toy. Later after his oil business became very successful he delighted in collecting model cars and trucks. A large collection of 50s and 60s era pedal trucks and cars are also seen throughout the building.

THE BACK ROOM

The back room houses several antique cars. In the very back of the room is one of the original oil work-over rigs purchased by Paul Cormier in the early years.