News, Awards & Events Calendar

Please help the Texas Historical Foundation by linking your Randalls grocery card to the THF account number, 5148. A portion of sales are returned to THF each quarter and reinvested in Texas preservation projects.

goodsearch

Thanks to THF’s new partnership with GoodSearch, raising money to help support preservation is literally a mouse click away. Log onto www.goodsearch.com—a new search engine powered by Yahoo!—and type Texas Historical Foundation into the "I support" box (you only have to do this once). The Texas Historical Foundation will then receive a donation each time you search the Web using GoodSearch. The more people who use this site, the more money we'll earn so please spread the word!

FOUR COMMUNITIES BENEFIT FROM LATEST ROUND OF THF GRANTS

AUSTIN, Texas--Four organizations around the state of Texas were the latest recipients of grants that will help them carry out local preservation projects.

The Frontier Times Museum in Bandera asked for funds to improve its exhibition display area, with special emphasis on artifacts relating to the Western frontier and its settlers. This project was funded by THF’s Jeanne Blocker Endowment for rural preservation, which is designated for communities of fewer than 30,000 residents. More than 10,000 visitors each year visit the Frontier Times Museum in Bandera.

Friends of the Depot, a non-profit organization restoring three historic railroad depots in Giddings, was given money from the Blocker Endowment for restoration of a tin stamped ceiling. When completed, the depot complex will serve as the site of the Rural Texas Tourism Center and as a 24-hour rest stop.

The Culberson County Historical Association was also awarded funds from the Blocker Endowment to replace existing doors in the Clark Hotel Historical Museum with historically accurate ones. The Clark Hotel Historical Museum is one of the oldest existing buildings in Van Horn and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Blocker Endowment funds also will be used in East Texas to assist with replacing the floor in the 1851 Wofford House in Athens. The East Texas Arboretum and Botanical Society is spearheading the effort to renovate the historic house, the oldest existing example of dog-trot architecture in Henderson County. Nearly 15,000 visitors tour the site annually.

The Texas Historical Foundation board administers several endowments that help local organizations preserve their own special pieces of the state’s history. Smaller requests, generally under $5,000, in the areas of archeology and rural preservation, are of interest at present, though the board does occasionally consider proposals outside of these fields.

TEXAS HISTORICAL FOUNDATION BEGINS FUNDRAISING
ON BEHALF OF NACOGDOCHES PROJECT

AUSTIN, Texas—The Texas Historical Foundation has begun an effort to raise funds for the preservation of Millard’s Crossing Historic Village in East Texas. Established by the late Lera Thomas in Nacogdoches, Millard’s Crossing is an aging historic village complex that is in need of preservation to save the documents, nineteenth-century historic structures, artifacts, and furniture that are there.
The Texas Historical Foundation board of directors voted to support the project about six months ago. According to Diana Walker, of Nacogdoches, who serves on the THF board and the Millard’s Crossing Advisory Council, endorsement from a statewide group is a great boost to the local effort. “Though our work to save the historic collections at Millard’s Crossing is going well, we realize that major funding and support from leading preservation institutions will be crucial to our success.” She added, “THF will help put a Texas face on our Nacogdoches project as it becomes known statewide.”

In the last few months, preservationists in Nacogdoches have achieved several important accomplishments toward the preservation of Millard’s Crossing:
w First, and most importantly, more than $100,000 has been raised locally, thereby ensuring the transfer of the property from the two current owners to a single, locally owned 501(c)3 corporation. Raising that amount was the primary condition for property donation. Letters of intent and acceptance have been exchanged, with a target date of June 1, 2008, for the actual transfer.
w An inventory of the entire Millard’s Crossing Historic Village collection is underway, satisfying yet another condition for transfer of the property.
w A “Grand Evening at the Crossing” gala is planned for May 31 at the historic site to celebrate the Village’s transfer of ownership to the people of Nacogdoches and to honor large campaign donors.
w The Village has added new board members with expertise in investments, business, marketing, advertising, and fundraising to help carry out key initiatives that will ensure a successful restoration and advocacy campaign.
The Texas Historical Foundation is now soliciting funds for the preservation of Millard’s Crossing. Every dollar that is donated to support this project, through THF, will be passed along to Millard's Crossing Historic Village, Inc. so that the money can be used to save this important piece of our state’s past. For more information or to make a donation, call 512-453-2154.