Structures are man-made artifacts that define spaces for human activities. Examples of structures include buildings such as houses, barns, and blacksmith shops. Also included in the Structures category are Building Components and Site Features. Building Components are objects created as separate, distinct, and generally interchangeable structural or decorative parts of buildings, such as mantels or window sashes. Site Features are objects such as flagpoles and fences that are associated with sites or structures.
One example of a structure in the Mayborn Museum Complex collection is the Morgan-Oakes-Gill Log House, one of the earliest preserved log structures in central Texas. Built in 1835 by George W. Morgan and his wife Mary Ann, it was originally located near Perry in Falls County, Texas. The land was granted to Mr. Morgan on September 9, 1835 by the Mexican government while Texas was still part of Mexico. Mr. Morgan sold the house in 1871 to Robert A. Oakes, who then deeded it to his daughter Sue Oakes Gill in 1911. Mrs. Gill’s children inherited the house in 1930 and in 1970 they donated the structure to the Strecker Museum. Dismantling of the house and transport of the logs, hand-hewn beams door planks and hearth rocks, and the reconstruction as a display in the Strecker Museum was completed in 1971 and again in 2004 as part of the Lifeways exhibit in the Mayborn Museum Complex.
An example of a Building Component in the collection is a section cornice. The handmade brass cornice is from the parlor in the home of Judge Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor at Gay Hill, Washington County, Texas. Judge Baylor was one of the founding fathers of Baylor University, which was named in his honor.
One particularly interesting Site Feature collection at the Mayborn Museum Complex consists of 636 examples of barbed wire. Barbed wire was first patented in the United States in 1867, though the term "barbed" was not used until 1871. Over the next 20 years over 500 different styles were invented.