Opening in 1936, the Stone Fort Museum has interpreted the history of East Texas and the Old Stone Fort while fostering local historic preservation. The Old Stone Fort, built in the late 18th century, was integral to a wide array of historic changes in East Texas. Its razing in 1902 caused consternation throughout the state and encouraged efforts to preserve other historic structures. In 1908, the Cum Concilio Club, a local women's organization, opened a memorial building dedicated to the razed structure. By the 1930s, the Texas Centennial Advisory Board of Nacogdoches and the Nacogdoches Historical Society proposed replacing that monument with a structure more closely replicating the original building, and renewed interest in history tied to the upcoming centennial of Texas Independence helped bring the project to fruition. The Texas Centennial Commission approved construction on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College, architect Hal B. Tucker designed the structure, and construction was completed by October 1936. Since then, the museum has interpreted the history of the Old Stone Fort and East Texas, with particular emphasis on the periods of Spanish and Mexican rule. In 1992, renovations to the museum building were completed to restore a higher degree of authenticity, and today it continues serving Texas through exhibits, programs, and its setting in a replica of an important early Texas structure.