Because of the possibility that portions of these records fall under Public Information Act exceptions including, but not limited to, home addresses and phone numbers of government employees and officials (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 552.117), an archivist must review certain series of tthese records before they can be accessed for research. The records may be requested for research under the provisions of the Public Information Act (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Chapter 552). The researcher may request an interview with an archivist or submit a request by mail, fax, or email including enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the archivist to accurately identify and locate the information requested. If our review reveals information that may be excepted by the Public Information Act, we are obligated to seek an open records decision from the Attorney General on whether the records can be released. The Public Information Act allows the Archives ten working days after receiving a request to make this determination. The Attorney General has 45 working days to render a decision. Alternately, the Archives can inform you of the nature of the potentially excepted information and if you agree, that information can be redacted or removed and you can access the remainder of the records. This restriction is applicable to several series, see the individual finding aids for more detailed information on the restriction statements.
The LaSalle Project files are restricted until April 1, 2007 by V.T.C.A. Government Code, Section 191.994 (a-c), to give the Texas Historical Commission (THC) time to finish work concerning the site, publish its project report and to protect the site. The THC also has a set of these records and additional materials.
Most records created by state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).
Researchers are required to use gloves when viewing photographs in the Archives.
None.
The Texas State Historical Survey Committee was created on a temporary basis in 1953 (Senate Concurrent Resolution 44, 53rd Legislature, Regular Session) to administer a comprehensive state program for historical preservation; it was given more permanent status in 1957 (Senate Bill 426, 55th Legislature, Regular Session). The committee was composed of eighteen members appointed for six-year terms by the governor. It had the power to erect historical markers, to check the historical accuracy of inscriptions prepared for markers by any individual or group, and to certify the historical worthiness of any historical property the state determined to purchase. In 1962 the Official Texas Historical Marker Program was formed to record Texas historic sites in all counties. Staff evaluated applications and made recommendations to the State Marker Review Board and then prepared marker inscriptions. State law authorized county judges to appoint county historical survey committees. These committees allowed the Texas State Historical Survey Committee to coordinate and cooperate in activities throughout the state. By 1966 each county had formed a historical survey committee. State law also allowed commissioners courts to appropriate money from the general fund to finance the activities of county historical survey committees, and to erect historical markers and acquire objects of historical significance. In addition, cities and counties were authorized to spend funds to operate historical museums.
The Committee created a program called RAMPS in 1964. It called for the recording, appreciation, marking, preservation, and surveying of Texas history. One of the basic objectives was to erect 5,000 official Texas historical markers in five years. The 5000th marker was approved on October 27, 1969. The committee created and/or approved several types of markers, including building markers, small subject and large subject markers, grave markers, medallions, private state approved markers, 1936 centennial markers, and large Civil War centennial markers. The historical markers were erected to mark structures, archeological finds, mountain passes, old trails, Indian camp and burial grounds, sites of battles and skirmishes, sites related to important events in cattle, agricultural, and petroleum industries, unique weather sites, early railroads, famous gunfights, early business and educational institutions, birthplaces or homes of outstanding Texans. The markers gave information on the date of founding, origin of name, and history of many towns and counties, as well as towns that no longer existed. The Committee became the Texas Historical Commission in 1973 (House Bill 1512, 63rd Legislature, Regular Session).
The Texas Historical Commission is composed of eighteen members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, serving overlapping six-year terms. Members must be citizens of Texas who have demonstrated an interest in the preservation of the state's historical heritage, and represent all geographical areas of Texas. Beginning in 1995, the membership must include a professional archeologist, a professional historian, and a licensed architect; and two of the members must be from counties with populations of less than 50,000. The governor names the chairperson. The members appoint an executive director to administer the agency. In 1998 the commission had a staff of about 100 employees.
The mission of the commission is to protect and preserve the state's historic and prehistoric resources for the use, education, economic benefit, and enjoyment of present and future generations. The main functions of the agency are to identify, preserve, interpret, and maintain historic and archeological sites. Duties of the agency include preservation consultation with the public; providing leadership to heritage organizations and county historical commissions; working with communities to protect Texas' architectural heritage, including operation of the Texas Main Street Program; administering the state's historical marker program; working with property owners to save archeological sites on private land; ensuring archeological sites are protected as land is developed for public construction projects; consulting with citizens and groups to nominate properties for historical and archeological landmark status and for the National Register of Historic Places; and making historical attractions a cornerstone of the Texas travel industry. The Commission also maintains the Historic Sites Atlas (a database of information on 200,000 historic sites in Texas); is involved with the LaSalle excavations; and was involved with the development of the Bob Bullock State History Museum in Austin.
In the late 1990s, the Texas Historical Commission went through an agency restructuring in which several divisions were combined. The agency now contains seven divisions that carry out the responsibilities of the agency. The Administration Division oversees budgetary, planning, and other executive functions. Staff Services handles personnel, accounting, and other staff functions.
The Archeology Division (formerly the Division of Antiquities Protection, and the Office of the State Archeologist) administers the archeological programs of the agency in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470) and the Antiquities Code of Texas (V.T.C.A., Natural Resource Code, Title 9, Chapter 191). It nominates archeological sites for the National Register of Historic Places; issues permits for activities that impact archeological sites; designates sites as State Archeological Landmarks; conducts surveys for a statewide inventory of archeological sites; and administers the state marine archeology program. The Archeology Division also produces and distributes public outreach materials pertaining to Texas archeology, coordinates Texas Archeology Awareness Month observances, and works with amateur archeologists who assist in preserving sites and collections. The Texas Antiquities Advisory Board assists the division with its state archeological landmark designations and issues pertaining to the Antiquities Code of Texas.
The Division of Architecture administers architectural grants through the Texas Preservation Trust Fund Grant Program, monitors the state's National Historic Landmarks and reviews proposed changes to Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks. It also monitors and provides technical consultation on the restoration and adaptive reuse of the state's architectural resources.
The History Programs Division operates the National Register Program and the Local History Program. This division is compiling a statewide inventory of Texas properties significant in American history, architecture, or culture. It nominates the most significant properties to the National Register of Historic Places. It assists designated cities with developing ordinances and programs to preserve local landmarks and also provides other assistance to county officials, nonprofit heritage organizations, and individuals in preserving cultural and historic resources of the state. It operates the Texas Historical Marker program and administers the Sam Rayburn House Museum in Bonham, Texas.
The Community Heritage Division operates the Main Street Program, the Heritage Tourism Program, and the Certified Local Government Program. The Main Street Program was created about 1981 and is designed to revitalize downtown centers of cities with fewer than 50,000 people. The program provides cities with architectural consultation, marketing, and interior design training for this purpose. In 1989 the Legislature provided funding for an Urban Main Street Program. The Heritage Tourism Program works with business communities and with civic and educational organizations to promote and preserve historic sites in heritage areas. The Certified Local Government Program was created in 1980 and offers technical assistance to cities and awards grants to help with the development of quality local preservation programs.
The Marketing Communications Division, which now includes the former
Publications Division, issues a bimonthly newsletter,
There are several boards associated with the Texas Historical Commission. The State Board of Review evaluates nominations to the National Register of Historic Places. The Antiquities Advisory Board evaluates nominations for State Archeological Landmark status and considers issues associated with the Antiquities Code of Texas. The Guardians of Texas Preservation Trust Fund cultivates and develops sources of support for the trust fund and advises the commission of potential donors of property or other assets. The Advisory Board of the Texas Preservation Trust Fund makes recommendations on Trust Fund grant allocations and advises on matters relating to more efficient utilization or enhancement of the fund. The Main Street Interagency Council evaluates applications for the Main Street programs.
The Texas Antiquities Committee was affiliated with the Texas Historical Commission until it was abolished in 1995. The Texas Antiquities Committee was created by Senate Bill 58, 61st Legislature, 2nd Called Session (1969). This committee was the legal custodian of all state archeological resources and it adopted rules to protect and preserve these resources. It designated state archeological landmarks, issued permits for activities that impacted archeological sites, oversaw staff efforts to ensure compliance with the Texas Antiquities Code, maintained an inventory of items recovered and retained by the State of Texas, and contracted or otherwise provided for discovery operations and scientific investigations of sunken or abandoned ships and their contents. In 1995, the committee was abolished (Senate Bill 365, 74th Legislature, Regular Session). Its duties were absorbed by the Texas Historical Commission and are carried out through its Archeology Division. The legislation that abolished the Antiquities Committee allowed for an advisory body to be created to assist the Texas Historical Commission on issues relating to the Antiquities Code of Texas. In 1995, the THC created the Texas Antiquities Advisory Board. The Board provides recommendations on proposed State Archeological Landmarks designations and assists in resolving disputes regarding issuance of Texas Antiquities permits.
Also affiliated with the Texas Historical Commission between 1971 and 1983 was the Texas Historical Resources Development Council. The Council promoted communication among its member agencies in their coordinated efforts to develop and publicize the historical resources of Texas.
These records include minutes, meeting files, correspondence, reports,
clippings, litigation files, photographs, and other materials of the Texas
Historical Commission and its predecessor, the Texas State Historical
Survey
Committee. Dates covered are 1829, 1847, 1852-1853, 1866, 1870, circa
1880-2003
and undated, the bulk dating 1955-2002. Files of the Texas Historical
Commission (THC) consist of minutes, agenda, and meeting files;
correspondence
and administrative files of the executive director and several divisions,
including the Historical Marker Program; preservation grant reports
documenting
restoration/preservation work done on various historic structures;
correspondence, administrative files, needs assessments done for endangered
historic properties, and clippings concerning county historical commissions
and
local historical activities, including Main Street projects; records of the
archeological excavations of the
Also present are minutes of several advisory boards, including the Texas Antiquities Advisory Board - the board that advises the THC on State Archeological Landmark designations and issues involving Texas Antiquities permits; the State Board of Review - the board that determines which buildings will be listed on the National Register of Historic Places; and the Advisory Board of the Texas Preservation Trust Fund and the Guardians of the Texas Preservation Trust Fund - boards which assist the Historical Commission with Texas Preservation Trust Fund grants and sources for grant funds.
Records of the Texas State Historical Survey Committee, the
predecessor to the Texas Historical Commission, can be found in the several
series noteably the
This finding aid serves as an overview for the records of the Texas Historical Commission. Most divisions have their own detailed finding aids. A few series are unprocessed; most of these have a basic description of the records but no folder inventory. Links to the other finding aids of Texas Historical Commission records are given in the descriptions of the various division's records or in the series descriptions for the single-series finding aids.
The records are organized into 22 series:
(Identify the item and cite the series), Records, Texas Historical Commission. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Tony Black, May 1990
Laura K. Saegert, April 1999, November 1999, May 2002, October 2002, February-April 2004
Accession numbers: 1984/070, 1984/096, 1987/038, 1990/020, 1990/138, 1998/066, 1999/088, 1999/118, 1999/174, 2000/020, 2000/021, 2000/075, 2000/079, 2000/089, 2000/092, 2001/023, 2001/056, 2001/087, 2002/103, 2002/121, 2002/122, 2003/071, 2012/111, and unassigned accessions
These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas Historical Commission on December 12, 1983; February 17, 1984; November 4, 1986; October 19, 1989; May 15, 1990; December 7, 1997; October 21, 1998; January 11, June 24, September 28, and December 7 and 20, 1999; January 8, March 7, October 9, and November 6, 2000; and February 7, April 4, and October 25, 2002; by the Texas Documents Collection of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission on March 5, 1999; and by the Legislative Reference Library on March 27, 2002 (reaccessioned on February 3, 2012).
Minutes and meeting files of the Historical Commission are transferred to the Archives on a regular basis.
This series contains the minutes, agenda, and exhibits of the Texas State Historical Survey Committee meetings, from 1953 to 1973; and the Texas Historical Commission, dating 1973-2003. There are no records for the January 15, 1955 meeting. Materials present include agenda, minutes, committee reports, resolutions, correspondence, lists of appointees to associated boards, quarterly reports from programs, rules and regulations, historic preservation and antiquities laws and/or changes to the laws, copies of agreements, press releases, lists of sites nominated for historical markers or landmark status, historical marker dedication calendar, lists of gifts and donations, lists of grants approved, attendance sheets for guests at the meetings, and newsletters, reports and other publications of the agency. Minutes, agenda, and/or exhibits are not present in all meeting files.
Topics discussed at the meetings include division activities, changes in or addition to historic preservation or antiquities laws, significant archeological discoveries, preservation and/or outreach activities underway by the agency, actions of associated boards, grant programs, historical markers to be awarded, sites receiving landmark status, etc.
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This series is currently unprocessed. Processing will be completed in the near future.
Records consists of minutes from the meetings of the Texas Antiquities Advisory Board, and notes, reports, photographs, computer disks, and other project files from the LaSalle Project, dating 1995-2001.
This finding aid is partially processed. When processing is completed a link will be added to this finding aid.
The LaSalle Project files are restricted until April 1, 2007 by V.T.C.A. Government Code, Section 191.994 (a-c), to give the Texas Historical Commission (THC) time to finish work concerning the site, publish its project report and to protect the site. The THC also has a set of these records and additional materials.
The LaSalle Project files are restricted until April 1, 2007, giving the Texas Historical Commission (THC) time to finish work concerning the site and publish its project report - to protect the site as per V.T.C.A. Government Code, Section 191.994 (a-c). The THC also has a set of these records and additional materials.
These records consist of grant reports, minutes, agenda, correspondence, clippings, photographs, and needs assessment files of the Architecture Division of the Texas Historical Commission, dating 1981-1999. Records document meetings of several trust fund associated boards (Texas Preservation Trust Fund Committee, the Advisory Board of the Texas Preservation Trust Fund, the Guardians of the Texas Preservation Trust Fund and the Architecture Committee Trust Fund Advisory Board), the assessment of preservation needs for endangered historic properties, and restoration work on historical buildings through preservation grant funding.
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Records in these files include correspondence, memos, minutes, surveys, inscriptions and lists of historical markers, membership lists and activity reports of county historical commissions, clippings, county historical commission newsletters and other publications, programs of local events, photographs, negatives, maps, lists of donors to the Texas Historical Foundation, and contracts, bids, and specifications for building historical markers. Dates covered are circa 1880-1995, undated, the bulk dating 1960-1975.
The files document a survey undertaken by the Texas State Historical Survey Committee to gather information about historical markers and other historical and cultural resources in Texas counties; county historic photographic projects; the administration of the historical marker program of the TSHSC/THC - erection of markers documenting the Confederacy (both in Texas and at national battlegrounds outside of the state), the Texas War for Independence, and other historical events; and actions of the State Board of Review in regard to nomination of sites to be added to the National Register of Historic Places. The files also cover membership and activities of the county historical commissions, appointments to the county historical commissions, requests for historical markers and medallions, historical marker dedications, requests for information about historical figures and/or historic sites in the counties, operation of local historical museums or sites, and meetings of county historical commissions. Correspondents include members of the Texas State Historical Survey Committee (TSHSC) or the Texas Historical Commission (THC), the State Building Commission, members of county historical commissions, county officials, and the general public.
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These records are reports, inventory or survey sheets, photographs, maps, plats, inspections, deed records, profiles of facility namesakes, etc. concerning surveys and inspections of several federal facilities in Texas to determine whether any structures or ruins within these facilities would quality for inclusion into the National Register of Historic Places. Dates covered are 1921-1949, 1986-1996 (bulk 1992-1996). The surveys were conducted by federal agency contractors to gather data about historic and cultural resources and filed with the Texas Historical Commission. The bulk of the records concern the survey of the United States Department of Energy's Pantex Plant in Carson County (formerly a World War II U.S. Army ordnance plant), focusing on the World War II-era structures, foundations, and ruins. Also documented in this series are surveys of Carswell Air Force Base in Tarrant County, a base initially designated for closure then realigned for a different military use; and the Historic William Beaumont General Hospital Area of the William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss in El Paso County, inventoried to determine the historical significance of the facilities in the hospital complex in order to establish it as the William Beaumont General Hospital District.
Each project contains an overall report and inventory record on each structure or feature within the facility surveyed. These sheets give a great deal of information about each structure or feature reviewed, including a detailed physical description, ownership information, use, history, integrity, significance, list of resources used in the research, name of the researcher, and date inventoried. Accompanying the individual inventory sheets are photographs, generally showing several views of the structure/feature. The inventory sheet lists the views shown. In addition to the inventory sheets and photos are maps and plans; profiles of the facilities namesake; some projects also have copies of some historic documents, which may include deed records, reports, inspections, and construction details; and in one project, the military's guidance policy for treatment of cold war historic properties. The records of the Pantex Plant also contain several notebooks of historical and current photographs of the facility. All the records have been removed from the notebooks and placed in folders, in the same order as they appeared in the notebooks.
Photographs for Carswell Air Force Base and the Beaumont Army Medical Center show interior and exterior of buildings, including homes, barracks and other housing facilities, officers' quarters, headquarters, storage facilities, hospitals and other buildings on the base, water tanks, and views of the vicinity. Most of the views are current, however, there are some 1920s-1930s views of the Beaumont Army Medical Center showing ambulances, hospital buildings and other structures of the period. Photographs are snapshots, 4-by-6 inch, 5-by-7 inch and 8-by-10 inch black and white photographs. Inventories of the images are present.
The photos of the Pantex plant are extensive, showing interior and
exterior views of the ordnance plant, officers quarters, barracks,
administrative buildings, and other structures on the base; views of
foundations and ruins; soldiers on the parade grounds; operating room;
automobiles on the base; workers at the plant; guard towers and checkpoints;
and ball games. The Pantex photos contain historic views from 1942 to 1944 and
photos of facility taken in 1992-1993 (labeled as
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This series consists of correspondence, memoranda, project proposals, community profiles, committee minutes, clippings, assessments of historic architecture, photographs, slides, maps, illustrations and drawings, conference proceedings, notes, reports, and publications. The files cover the years 1829, 1847, 1852-1853, 1866, 1870, 1888-1985, 1990-1999, undated (bulk 1980-1982, 1990-1994) and document two programs of the Texas Historical Commission's Community Heritage Division - the Main Street Program, and a regional documentation project of the Heritage Tourism Program, the Los Caminos del Rio Heritage Project.
The Main Street Program selects smaller cities and towns and works with them to revitalize their downtown centers. The records cover the beginning years of the program, from Texas' initial proposal to be part of the national main street program, through the first few years of the program's operation. There is a set of reading files of the Main Street Program director, containing memos and outgoing correspondence with community leaders and others about the Main Street project and with organizations and local people in specific cities involved in the project. There is also a set of files concerning the project proposal Texas prepared in 1980 and sent to the National Main Street Center to be accepted as a pilot project state. Dates of the Main Street Program files are 1979-1985, bulk 1980-1982.
The Los Caminos del Rio Heritage Project was undertaken as part of
the Heritage Tourism Program to promote and preserve historic sites along the
Los Caminos del Rio heritage corridor, an area of about 200 miles along the
Texas-Mexican border between Laredo and Brownsville. The bulk of the files
consist of photographic media, most being photographs taken by Historical
Commission staff to document sites in the corridor, largely focusing on several
cities and towns. Of special note is a large group of photographs from Guerrero
Viejo, a colonial Mexican town inundated in 1953 when the Falcon Reservoir was
built on the Rio Grande. Also present are the maps, photographs, and original
artwork used in the project's publications,
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This series consists of news releases and public service announcements; newspaper clippings and journal articles; newsletters, brochures, pamphlets and other publications; drafts of speeches and introductions; drafts of publications; correspondence (both incoming and outgoing) and memoranda; annual and biennial reports; minutes of meetings; workshop programs, lists of participants, and other workshop materials; copies of legislation and administrative rules; resumes; notes; etc. Dates covered are 1955-1998, 2002, undated. These are records of the Marketing Communications Division, formerly the Publications Division, of the Texas Historical Commission, documenting some of the publishing activities of the Commission in the 1960s and the 1970s, award recognitions, press releases and other public outreach, and the THC's museum conferences and annual meetings. The press releases announce events and projects of the Commission, such as archaeological excavations, new publications, exhibits, preservation or restoration projects, upcoming conferences, and appointments or resignations. Publications consist largely of brochures about history awareness or the work of the commission.
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This is a report containing several clippings and a cover sheet of information about the Goddess of Liberty, the figure atop the Texas State Capitol Dome. The clippings are dated 1897, 1963, and 1984; the cover sheet is dated 1984, and was prepared by Edward Hamilton. This is a copy of the original report which is housed at the Texas Historical Commission.
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