Mission
Since 1954, Texas Historical Foundation's mission has been to preserve the unique and rich heritage of Texas by supporting nonprofit organizations that restore historic structures and sites; conserve and archive rare documents; share Texas stories through education, research, and the arts; and uncover historic and prehistoric archaeological sites and artifacts.
We are Texans preserving Texas.
History
The Texas State Historical Survey Committee (now the Texas Historical Commission) was created by the Fifty-third Legislature on June 4, 1953 to identify private preservationists and locate the state’s endangered historical artifacts and papers.
The Texas Historical Foundation was established on January 11, 1954, to provide most of the TSHSC funding. In 1971, as the state assumed a funding role for the Survey Committee, THF began to independently seek out worthy projects, explore critical preservation, and establish endowments to support preservationists across Texas. Over 75 years later, this good work continues.
For over 75 years, THF has helped:
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SAVE HISTORIC BUILDINGSlike the Charles Goodnight Home in the Panhandle
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FURTHER ARCHEOLOGICAL RESEARCHincluding work at the Gault Site in Central Texas
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PRESERVE ARCHIVES & COLLECTIONSlike early Texas Supreme Court records at the state archives
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SPONSOR HISTORY EDUCATION EFFORTSincluding “The Birth of Texas” documentary series
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PROMOTE THE ARTSproviding post production grant for a Horton Foote documentary
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PROTECT RURAL HISTORYsupporting projects in small communities that may lack resources
"Texas Historical Foundation helped fund a geophysical survey in June 2020 sponsored by the Cradle of Texas Conservancy. As a result of the survey, evidence of the precise location of the 1832 Fort Velasco and a Civil War-era fort at the old mouth of the Brazos River were found. After being lost to history, modern remote-sensing techniques by Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc. have helped our organization to finally locate these sites after decades of searches and debate." - Chris Kneupper, Cradle of Texas Conservancy
Stay In The Know
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