Though winters in South Texas are more mild than blustery, on occasion Jack Frost can take a nip at our noses and toes. On those days, a good fireplace can make a room cozy and warm. When the Frontier Times Museum first opened in 1933, the only heating source was one of Bandera’s most unique fireplaces. Inlaid with a bounty of fossilized sea shells, sea creatures and oyster shells, the fireplace is its own historical display. The shells used in the fireplace date from the time Bandera and the Texas Hill Country were a shallow sea teeming with life that today one ...