The Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, located in Carthage in Panola County in East Texas, honors those who have made outstanding contributions to country music and were born in the state of Texas. This includes singers, songwriters, disc jockeys, and others. In the center of the exhibit area, a replica of a 1930s theater marquee reminds visitors of the role of country music in film. A juke box nearby allows visitors to select the country songs that they wish to hear played while touring the museum. The marquee serves as the entrance to the Tex Ritter Museum. A native of Panola County, Ritter was one of the first singers inducted into the hall of fame when it was established in 1998. It also has an exhibit on Ritter's son, John Ritter. Inductees 1998 Tex Ritter Willie Nelson Jim Reeves Gene Autry Joe Allison Cindy Walker 1999 Ernest Tubb Hank Thompson Waylon Jennings 2000 Dale Evans Bob Wills Charlie Walker 2001 Stuart Hamblin Billy Walker Ray Price 2002 Tanya Tucker Gene Watson Nat Stuckey 2003 Kris Kristofferson Lefty Frizzell Johnny Bush 2004 The Big Bopper Johnny Lee Mac Davis 2005 Roger Miller Jimmy Dean Johnny Gimble Glenn Sutton 2006 The Gatlin Brothers Billy Joe Shaver 2007 Johnny Rodriguez Red Steagall Bob Luman 2008 Mickey Newbury Buck Owens The Whites 2009 Linda Davis Michael Martin Murphey Neal McCoy 2010 George Jones Al Dexter Ray Winkler 2011 Mickey Gilley Moe Bandy 2014 Duane Allen and The Oak Ridge Boys 2015 Tracy Byrd Dallas Wayne 2016 Clint Black 2017 Kenny Rogers Bobbie Nelson 2018 Leon Rausch The Chuck Wagon Gang 2019 Jeannie C. Riley Rodney Crowell Claude Gray See also List of music museums List of museums in East Texas References External links Official website American country music Music halls of fame Halls of fame in Texas State halls of fame in the United States Music museums in the United States Biographical museums in Texas Museums in Panola County, Texas Awards established in 1998 Country music awards Country music museums