Texas Historical Commission - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation

Historic preservation

Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...

within the state of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. It administers the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

for sites in Texas.

The commission also identifies Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks and recognizes them with Official Texas Historical Marker medallions and descriptive plaques. Finally, the commission identifies State Archeological Landmarks and Historic Texas Cemeteries. A bimonthly publication, The Medallion, is published by the agency as a state-wide preservation newsletter.

The commission has main offices in the Austin Complex in Downtown

Downtown Austin

Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas. Downtown is located on the north bank of the Colorado River. The approximate borders of Downtown include Lamar Boulevard to the west, 11th Street and sometimes Martin Luther King, Jr...

Austin

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

; the complex includes the Carrington-Covert House

Carrington-Covert House

The Carrington-Covert House is a historic commerce building in downtown Austin, Texas; it serves as the headquarters of the Texas Historical Commission. It was built in 1857, less than 20 years after Austin was founded, making it one of the few surviving pre-Civil War structures in the city...

, Luther Hall, Gethsemane Lutheran Church

Gethsemane Lutheran Church

Gethsemane Lutheran Church is a historic church at 1510 Congress Avenue in Downtown Austin, Texas.It was built in 1882 and added to the National Register in 1970....

, Elrose Building, and the Christianson-Leberman Building.

History of the Commission

Established in 1953, The Texas State Legislature created a State Historical Survey Committee with the task to identify important historic sites across the state. The Texas Legislature

Texas Legislature

The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...

changed the agency's name to the Texas Historical Commission in 1973.

From 1963-1967, former state Attorney General

Attorney General

In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...

John Ben Shepperd

John Ben Shepperd was the segregationist Texas attorney general from 1953–1957 who led resistance to the desegregation of public schools mandated by the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka...

headed the commission and moved to expand the number of state highway markers to promote historic preservation.

Personnel

Today, the agency employs about 100 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

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

, economic development, heritage tourism, history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

, public administration and urban planning. These personnel consult with citizens and organizations to preserve Texas's architectural, archeological and cultural landmarks.

In the late 1990s, the agency was restructured to have seven divisions that carry out the responsibilities of the agency. The divisions are:

Administration Division
Staff Services Division
Archeology Division
Division of Architecture
History Programs Division
Community Heritage Division
Marketing Communications Division

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 Main Street Interagency Council

Texas Heritage Trails Program

The Texas Historical Commission administers this state-wide heritage tourism program. The goals of the program are to promote heritage tourism and historic preservation. The state of Texas is divided up into ten heritage regions: Texas Brazos Trail

Texas Brazos Trail

The Texas Brazos Trail is a non-profit organization which promotes heritage tourism, economic development, and historic preservation. It is one of ten regions which make up the Heritage Trails Program of the Texas Historical Commission....

, Texas Forest Trail, Texas Forts Trail, Texas Hill Country Trail, Texas Independence Trail, Texas Lakes Trail, Texas Mountain Trail, Texas Pecos Trail, Texas Plains Trail, and the Texas Tropical Trail. In 2005 the Heritage Trails Program won the Preserve America

Preserve America

Preserve America is a United States government program, established under President George W. Bush, intended to encourage and support community efforts to preserve and enjoy the country's cultural and natural heritage....

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.

Historical Markers

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.

One of the devotees of the expanded historical marker program was Rupert N. Richardson

Rupert N. Richardson

Rupert Norval Richardson, Sr. , was an American historian and a former president of Baptist-affiliated Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas...

, the Texas historian who served as a THC member from 1953-1967 and was from 1943-1953 the president of Hardin-Simmons University

Hardin-Simmons University

Hardin–Simmons University is a private Baptist university located in Abilene, Texas, United States.-History:Hardin–Simmons University was founded as Abilene Baptist College in 1891 by the Sweetwater Baptist Association and a group of cattlemen and pastors who sought to bring Christian higher...

in Abilene

Abilene, Texas

Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark is the highest designation given by the Texas Historic Commission for significant structures in Texas.

Headquarters complex

The commission has main offices in the Austin Complex in Downtown