The commission also identifies Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks (RTHL) and recognizes them with Official Texas Historical Marker (OTHM) medallions and descriptive plaques. The commission identifies State Archeological Landmarks and Historic Texas Cemeteries. A quarterly publication, The Medallion, is published by the agency and includes news and advice about preservation projects, Texas' historic sites, and heritage tourism opportunities.[1] The agency also maintains the online Texas Historic Sites Atlas featuring more than 300,000 site records, including data on Official Texas Historical Markers and National Register of Historic Places properties in Texas.[2]
Established in 1953, the state legislature created the Texas State Historical Survey Committee to oversee state historical programs.[3] The legislature revised the agency's enabling statute to give it additional protective powers, expand its leadership role and educational responsibilities, and officially changed its name to the Texas Historical Commission (THC). In 2007, the legislature transferred the management of 20 state historic sites from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to the THC.[4]
Today, the agency employs about 200 personnel. The Texas Historical Commission leadership is composed of 18 members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate, serving overlapping six-year terms. All members must be citizens of Texas, and together represent all geographical areas of Texas.
The commission also employs personnel in various fields, including archeology, architecture, economic development, heritage tourism, history, public administration and urban planning. These personnel consult with citizens and organizations to preserve Texas's architectural, archeological and cultural landmarks.
The agency includes the following divisions dedicated to overseeing the agency's programs:[5]
Administration
Archeology
Architecture
Community Heritage Development
Historic Sites
History Programs
Public Information and Education
Staff Services
There are several boards associated with the Texas Historical Commission:
The State Board of Review
The Antiquities Advisory Board
The Guardians of Texas Preservation Trust Fund
The Advisory Board of the Texas Preservation Trust Fund
The Texas Historical Commission administers this statewide heritage tourism program.[6] This program is historically based in the ten scenic driving regions that Texas Department of Transportation and Gov. John Connally designated in 1968 in connection with the World's fair in San Antonio, Texas, called HemisFair '68. After the fair, these trails were all but forgotten. The Texas Historical Commission began its program based on these historical designations in 1998, starting with the Texas Forts Trail.[7] The goal of the program is to promote heritage tourism and historic preservation.
In 2005, the Heritage Trails Program won the Preserve America Presidential Award for exemplary accomplishment in the preservation and sustainable use of America's heritage assets, which has enhanced community life while honoring the nation's history.[10]
The Texas Historical Commission preserves and operates 31 state historic sites across Texas. These unique places honor the past and inspire an understanding of what it means to be a Texan. From American Indian sites to frontier forts to common and elegant homes and the leaders and statesmen who lived in them, these sites enrich people's lives through history.[11]
Fort Griffin is home to the official State of Texas Longhorn Herd.[12]
Sponsors may apply for official historical markers through their county historical commissions. The purpose of the markers, which are available in a variety of types (cemetery, building, subject) and sizes, is to educate the public. An application must meet certain requirements to be approved by the THC commissioners as qualifying for a marker.
Beginning in November 2006, the Texas Historical Commission adopted a new marker program. The following are some of the major changes to the program:
All applications are to be submitted electronically
There is now an annual application deadline
An application fee is required
The inscription process has been reworked
As of 2007, there are over 13,000 Official Texas Historical Markers placed throughout the state. Texas has the most prolific state historical marker program in the United States.[13]
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark is the highest designation given by the Texas Historic Commission for significant structures in Texas.
State Antiquities Landmark
The THC may designate certain locations as State Antiquities Landmarks provided that they are not located on federal lands. These locations may fall into one of two categories:
Archeological sites, which may not necessarily have NRHP listing, and whose locations are not available to the general public in order to avoid vandalism.
Designation as a State Antiquities Landmark does not prohibit the destruction or modification of such a structure or location. Instead, the designation requires a permit for any modification subject to public review by the THC.[14]
The Carrington-Covert House was turned over to the commission to serve as the agency's headquarters in 1971. Gethsemane Lutheran Church was restored to serve as offices of the agency in 1970 and 1971.[17]
Friends of the Texas Historical Commission
Incorporated in 1996, the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission (FTHC) is a 501c(3) tax exempt nonprofit organization, further designated as a 509(a)(1) and 170(b)(1)(A0(vi) Public Charity, whose purpose is to develop private philanthropic resources to assist the Texas Historical Commission with its mission to identify, preserve, and protect our history—providing a lasting legacy for future generations. FTHC secures contributions to support the programs, projects, and activities of the Texas Historical Commission not provided for in the state budget. Despite its name, the Friends is not a membership organization.[18]
Over the past two decades, FTHC has helped secure more than $10 million to support THC projects and programs, including the 17th century La Belle shipwreck excavation in Matagorda Bay, the Fort St. Louis excavation, the Red River War Battle Sites Project, Texas in the Civil War and World War II Initiatives, the Texas Courthouse Stewardship Program, restoration of the Fulton Mansion, restoration of 23 historic Texas flags, and more.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, responsible for the collection, conservation, and interpretation of Pennsylvania's heritage. The commission cares for historical manuscripts, public records, and objects of historical interest; museums; archeology; publications; historic sites and properties; historic preservation; geographic names; and the promotion of public interest in Pennsylvania history.
The Carrington–Covert House is a historic building in downtown Austin, Texas that serves as headquarters of the Texas Historical Commission. Built between 1855 and 1857, it is one of the few surviving pre-Civil War structures in the city.
The Southgate–Lewis House is located one mile east of the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, at 1501 East 12th Street. The house was constructed in 1888, and now stands as an African-American historical landmark. It is also a repository for African-American History and Culture in the region of east Austin, which historically became an African-American neighborhood. The City of Austin has now declared this region to be "Austin's Black Cultural District." The Southgate–Lewis House is located in the center of the "African American Cultural Heritage District".
The Alabama Historical Commission is the historic preservation agency for the U.S. state of Alabama. The agency was created by an act of the state legislature in 1966 with a mission of safeguarding Alabama's historic buildings and sites. It consists of twenty members appointed by the state governor or who serve in an official position. The members represent a broad cross section of Alabamians including architects, historians, archaeologists, and representatives of state universities. The commission is tasked with acquisition and preservation of historic properties and education of the public about historic sites in Alabama.
Fort Graham was a pioneer fort established in 1849 by Brevet Major R.A. Arnold at the site of Jose Maria Village, an Anadaca camp on the western edge of present-day Hill County, Texas. It remained in service until 1853, when settlements had moved further west. It was named after Col. William M. Graham, who died at the Battle of Molina del Rey.
The Tennessee Historical Commission (THC) is the State Historic Preservation Office for the U.S. state of Tennessee. Headquartered in Nashville, it is an independent state agency, administratively attached to the Department of Environment and Conservation. Its mission is to protect, preserve, interpret, maintain, and administer historic places; to encourage the inclusive diverse study of Tennessee's history for the benefit of future generations; to mark important locations, persons, and events in Tennessee history; to assist in worthy publication projects; to review, comment on and identify projects that will potentially impact historic properties; to locate, identify, record, and nominate to the National Register of Historic Places all properties which meet National Register criteria, and to implement other programs of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 as amended. The Tennessee Historical Commission also refers to the entity consisting of 24 Governor-appointed members and five ex officio members.
Roxbury Heritage State Park is a history-themed heritage park in the oldest part of Roxbury, a former town annexed in 1868 by Boston, Massachusetts. It is anchored by the Dillaway–Thomas House, a large colonial structure built in 1750 and thought to be the oldest surviving house in Roxbury. The location includes an adjacent 1-acre (0.40 ha) landscaped park with views of the Boston skyline, and is part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston.
Gethsemane Lutheran Church is a historic Lutheran church in downtown Austin, Texas. Designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building currently holds offices of the Texas Historical Commission.
San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site is a historic site located in San Felipe, Austin County, Texas. The site preserves the location of the first provisional capital and Anglo-American colony in Mexican Texas.
The Texas Forest Trail is a non-profit organization which promotes heritage tourism, economic development, and historic preservation. The organization is one of ten driving trail regions which make up the award-winning Heritage Trails Program of the Texas Historical Commission.
The Hudspeth County Courthouse is located in the town of Sierra Blanca, the seat of Hudspeth County in the U.S. state of Texas. The courthouse was constructed in 1919 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The Texas Historical Commission (THC) has also designated the building as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark since 1962 and as a State Antiquities Landmark since 1981. The county is named for Claude Benton Hudspeth who served as a U.S. representative from El Paso and previously in both houses of the Texas Legislature where, as a member of the Texas Senate, he was influential in the county's creation.
The Woman's Club of Fort Worth is one of the city's oldest membership organizations, formed in 1923 by the members of several existing woman's clubs. The Woman's Club complex comprises eight historic buildings on Fort Worth's Near Southside and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. As with many woman's clubs in the United States, the Woman's Club of Fort Worth has its roots in the Progressive Movement, with its original mission of "the cultural and civic advancement of Fort Worth; and the study of literature, history, science, painting, music, and other fine arts."
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