HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007 BCHC Annual Report
1 COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION 2007 Annual Report You may download an electronic version of this form from the THC web site: www.thc.state.tx.us Please use this form to report your 2007
county historical commission (CHC) activities to your county commissioners court as well as to the Texas Historical Commission (THC). Information from these forms may be used to report
county and statewide historic preservation activities to the state legislature. Please complete this form and return by February 28, 2008. Thank you. Brazos Charles R. Schultz County
Name of CHC chair 1. How many members currently serve on your commission? 18 2. How many meetings did your commission hold in 2007? 9 3. How do you inform the public about your meetings
and activities? Regular press releases to the local newspaper where the meeting is regularly noted 4. When were your CHC’s bylaws last reviewed and updated? 1986 Please provide a current
copy to the THC.) 5. How many volunteer preservation hours did your commission members work this year? 748 6. Does your commission sponsor or work with young people in your county? yes
If yes, please list and describe such activities: We annually participate with the Star of the Republic Museum in Washington on the Brazos in sponsoring a regional history fair. One
or more members of the Brazos CHC participate in judging projects of the students. We also provide two prizes of $100 each with an additional amount of $50 for a project on Brazos County
7. Does your county provide funds in its budget for your commission? x Yes No If yes, how much was your allocation in fiscal year 2007? $3,600 Does your county provide office space
for your commission? Yes x No If the county provides other operating help, please list: 8. Does your commission have other sources of funding? Yes x No If yes, please briefly describe
sources and amounts of such income:
2 9. Please check all that apply to your commission: X Members attended the 2007 Annual Historic Preservation Conference in Lakeway How many? 1 Member, Preservation Texas Member,
Texas Historical Foundation X Member, Texas Association of Museums Member, Texas Downtown Association Member, Texas Oral History Association Member, National Trust for Historic
Preservation Member, American Association for State and Local History X Member, Texas State Historical Association Member, other historical associations(s): 10. Please check all
areas in which your CHC worked actively to promote historic preservation: X Historical marker(s) X Historic cemetery preservation and/or designation X History museum(s) National Register
of Historic Places designation Main Street Program – Which town(s)? Certified Local Government – Which city or county? Visionaries in Preservation Program – Which community?
Texas Heritage Trails Program – Which trail region? Heritage tourism (other than or in addition to Texas Heritage Trails Program) Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program
Military sites X Advisor to commissioners court on matters related to history and preservation Survey/inventory of architectural resources Advocacy for the preservation of an
endangered historic resource (see also question #12) Historic building rehabilitation X Protection of archeological resources Texas Archeological Stewardship Network Oral history
X Archives School/educational programs Training workshops Local newspaper column Local history publication (CHC newsletter, county history book, brochures, etc.) Historical
observances (check all that apply): County/city birthdays National Preservation Week X Texas Archeology Month Other (please list): Women’s History Month Black History
Month Hispanic Heritage Month
3 11. Does your CHC maintain an inventory of historic properties in your county? Yes X No If yes, when was the inventory last updated? 12. Please list any significant historic properties
or sites (officially designated or not) in your county that are threatened or endangered, damaged or destroyed. If possible, provide photographs, address and a brief description of the
threat or damage, as well as information regarding any ongoing local efforts to preserve the site(s). The one historical church reported last year on property purchased by a development
company is currently being destroyed, and the congregation has moved to a new building. The fate of the subject marker that was at that location is uncertain. The situation described
last year of many new residents moving to the area and having no appreciation of for the history of the area continues to be a problem. The ever increasing population of students attending
Texas A&M University, there is an even greater need for more housing for them off the campus so more and more land around the area is needed for residences. 13. Please provide a brief
narrative description of your CHC’s successes over the past year, as well as its not-so-successful activities. (See Distinguished Service Award) information following question #16 on
this form. In particular, we would like to know about any specific plans for or programs dealing with diversity both in terms of CHC membership and preservation activities in your community.
The project on which the Brazos County Historical Commission has worked with the Texas Department of Transportation over a period of years to complete a commitment to a group of pioneer
settlers in Brazos Count to maintain a memorial park to recognize their contributions to the county. That park has been completed and is a very nice addition to the county. I am enclosing
a number of photographs taken of the park after its recent completion. We are planning a formal dedication program for that park on April 21, 2008. Perhaps the most important project
we have completed in the last year and possibly the most important in the history of the commission has been the creation of a new web site for the Brazos County Historical Commission
at www.co.brazos.tx.us/departments. This was accomplished through a lot of hard work by a few members under the leadership of long time member Colleen Batchelor with the assistance of
a couple of other members and the webmaster for Brazos County. This web site features an interactive map of the location of all the markers in the county, original narratives for the
marker applications, texts of the markers, and information on how to get involved in historical preservation and the
4 county historical commission. Colleen Batchelor reported some interesting statistics on the web site at our January 2008 meeting at which time the web site had been very recently completed.
By that time the site had been visited 1,274 times and 3,914 pages had been viewed for an average of 3.07 pages per visit. Ninety-six percent of the 1,239 visitors were from the United
States. Of that total, 931 were from Texas. Fifty percent of the Texas visitors were from Bryan, 10 percent from Houston, and 6% from Austin. The other visits were from 22 other Texas
cities. The other visitors were from 23 other countries. It appears that a good percentage of the visits were made as a result of individuals using a search engine such as Google. Residents
of the United Kingdom visited 11 times and from Canada visited 7 times. Thus it would appear that a sizeable number of visitors had an opportunity to learn something about the history
of Brazos County. The marker for Isom Palmer is still awaiting dedication at his grave site in the Bryan City Cemetery. The application for historic cemetery for the Old Bethel Cemetery
has been approved and the process of obtaining an historical marker is underway. It should be dedicated in 2008. The application for Historic Cemetery designation for Reliance Cemetery
has been approved and an application for an historical marker is approved and should be completed in early 2008. It should be dedicated in 2008. The status of the endangered properties
listed last year—Temple Freda in Bryan, Bowie School in Bryan, and Old Bryan Ice House—has not changed. There has been a change in the Boonville town site, however. A new owner is developing
commercial and residential districts at that location. We are hopeful that he will be willing to designate a small area to be recognized as the site of the original seat of county government.
The status of the E. A. Kemp House, prominent Black educator in Bryan for many years, the locks of the Brazos River at Millican and Hidalgo Falls has not changed. The status of the Czech
Moravian Cemetery at 5900 Knights Bridge Street in Bryan remains unchanged as no individual or group seems inclined to properly maintain it. The residents who have moved in the area
that was originally settled by Czech Moravians seem to want only to complain about it rather than doing anything to improve the situation. At present Brazos County has 53 completed and
dedicated markers. {I am sorry to report that I miscounted by 1 last year.] We have three historic cemetery designations and markers in process and hope to have them completed within
the next year.
5 Please tell us about any significant preservation projects in your community, either currently underway or planned for the coming year. We will continue our efforts of encouraging
individuals, organizations, institutions, businesses and others to apply for historical markers and for historic cemetery designations. 15. Please tell us about you efforts to recruit
a diverse membership (age, race, gender, etc. for your commission and how you are addressing issues of diversity in historic preservation in your county. We have a total of eighteen
members on the Brazos County Historical Commission. One is African American. The others are all Caucasian. The one African American female member on our commission she has not been able
to attend meetings because she has a full time job and devotes her other time to care of an elderly parent. Our 18 active members range in age from early 40s to mid 70s. All are Caucasian.
16. Please tell us how the THC can be of greater assistance to you in carrying out your local preservation activities. It seems to me that the staff in the historical markers/historical
designations unit is not as large as it once was. This seems to me to be a mistake given the increasing interest within the counties of marking buildings, sites, events, etc. I think
this staff should be augmented so as to speed up the process between the submitting of an application and the final dedication of a marker. I would like to see more sessions at the annual
conference in which experienced county commission chairs and commission members share their experiences in working with County Judges and County Commissioners in obtaining more adequate
funding for historic preservation. I would also like to see those same folks describe how they recruit and retain a diverse ethnic mix of members to assure that all people groups of
the county are involved in the historical preservation efforts of the area.
6 X Distinguished Service Award – PLEASE NOTE If you wish for your CHC to be considered for Distinguished Service Award
(DSA) recognition, please check the box above and provide details about your calendar year 2007 successes and accomplishments. Enclose a brief summary/description of each project, and
enclose copies of supporting documentation if applicable. Recommendations for DSA recognition will be based on an overall evaluation of each CHC’s achievements in historic preservation
activities and programs for the year. DSA recipients will be notified in advance and will be recognized at the opening session of the Annual Historic Preservation Conference in Corpus
Christi in May 2008. Deadline for submission is February 28, 2008, along with this Annual Report. Name of person completing
this report: Dr. Charles R. Schultz Mailing address: 1200 Goode Street City: College Station, TX Zip: 77840 Daytime phone (with area code): 979-862-1555 Email address: c-schultz@lib-gw.tamu.edu
CHC web site address: www.co.brazos.tx.us/departments The THC staff can provide you with any additional information or assistance, please call 512/463-5853 or email history@thc.state.tx.us.
Thank you. Please return by February 28, 2008