Fort Worth has a rich cowboy history and culture, preserving its cattle ranching and Western heritage within the Stockyards National Historic District. Although its Wild West days are well and truly in the rearview mirror (it’s one of America’s safest cities in 2026), Fort Worth still puts on unique Western experiences, such as daily cattle drives and mock cowboy duels most Friday and Saturday nights. So it’s fitting that a museum honoring the legacy and life of one of the world’s most iconic on-screen cowboys should also reside in Fort Worth’s Stockyards, ready to treat John Wayne fans from all over the world.
John Wayne: An American Experience celebrates the actor’s personal and on-screen life through items and memorabilia left to his family. John Wayne’s son, Ethan, and the rest of his family are responsible for the museum’s varied and intimate collection after deciding to share the legendary actor’s inherited belongings with the public. It’s because of this that you can get up close to the Duke’s favorite cowboy hats, photographs, and yearbook from his childhood years in Iowa and California, and costumes from iconic Western and war films.
You can also see Wayne’s Academy Award for Best Actor for the film “True Grit”, read Grammy-nominated poems he recited, learn about his philanthropic efforts, and peruse scripts from many of his films. “Besides being a beautiful presentation, the museum gives people a chance to get closer to the person who maybe helped them make a better decision in life or guided them through difficult times in their life,” Ethan Wayne, the president of John Wayne Enterprises, said to the Fort Worth Report. It’s these 400-plus items and the way they’re lovingly presented that make the museum such a bucket-list experience for fans.
John Wayne lives on in Fort Worth
Fort Worth is no slouch when it comes to attention-grabbing experiences, such as Cutting Edge Haunted House, Texas’s Guinness World Record-holding haunted attraction. The city was also a hub of Western culture long before John Wayne: An American Experience opened here just over five years ago. It was Fort Worth’s Western heart that drew John Wayne’s family to the city after first exhibiting his memorabilia in Las Vegas. However, the museum has also given a lot back to the city, including attracting visitors. “Its presence has contributed to increased visitation, longer guest stays, and a deeper appreciation for the history and values that define this destination,” Dena Newell, director of marketing at the Stockyards Heritage Development Co., told the Fort Worth Report…