Texas Historical Foundation

Home
United States
Houston, TX
Texas Historical Foundation

We are Texans preserving Texas Become a member and receive the quarterly Authentic Texas magazine at www.texashistoricalfoundation.org

09/03/2026

🌟 Impact Wednesday: Summer 2026 Grants

From historic buildings and archaeological sites to community archives, museums, and cultural heritage projects, our Summer 2026 grants are helping preserve Texas history in communities across the state.

This round of grants supports ten projects representing the remarkable diversity of Texas history—and the people working every day to protect it.

👉 Read the full announcement to meet this round’s grantees and learn more about their projects: https://tinyurl.com/38wt9syr

🔗 Curious about THF grants? Visit texashistoricalfoundation.org for details.

09/01/2026

🌾 What if rural organizations across Texas had a stronger network to turn to?

From museums and historic preservation societies to libraries, theaters, and community organizations, rural cultural nonprofits face many of the same challenges—but too often, they face them alone.

The Rural Texas Arts & Culture Network is changing that by connecting organizations across the state to share resources, learn from one another, build capacity, and find support.

Our latest feature explores how this growing network is building connections across rural Texas, and why those connections matter.

👉 Read the full story here: https://tinyurl.com/4vu7rah8

🔗 Find out more at texasruralarts.org

MINDPOP

08/29/2026

🎬 On the Road with THF: Dolly in Texas

In 2011, Dolly Parton famously said, “If I couldn't be from Tennessee, I'd be from Texas.” It's easy to see why Texas loved her right back.

This photograph captures Dolly and the cast of The Best Little Wh******se in Texas at the film's 1982 world premiere at Austin's historic Paramount Theatre. The film was shot in Texas and brought one of the state's most colorful real-life stories to the big screen.

The story was based on the legendary Chicken Ranch in La Grange, which operated from the early 20th century until 1973. Dolly played Miss Mona, the madam at the center of the story.

The Paramount itself has been part of Austin's history since 1915, and its connection to the film is one more chapter in the long history of this beloved theater.

With Dolly's passing this week, we thought this photograph was a fitting opportunity to remember her—and the very Texas story that brought her to Austin.

❤️ Thank you for the memories, Dolly.

Photograph courtesy of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

08/27/2026

🌟 Impact Wednesday

The 1872 Bolivar Point Lighthouse has stood as a landmark on the Bolivar Peninsula for more than 150 years—and the Bolivar Point Lighthouse Foundation has been working to ensure this remarkable piece of Texas history has a future.

THF has supported that effort with two grants, helping fund architectural drawings for the lighthouse's upper lantern and gallery and restoration of its exterior shell to its historic black-and-white striped appearance.

Now, we're excited to see the Foundation opening the lighthouse grounds to the public for an Open House on September 13, marking 18 years since Hurricane Ike devastated the Bolivar Peninsula.

Visitors can tour the grounds, see the restoration progress, view commemorative bricks, and attend a special "Beacon of Resilience" ceremony at noon.

📍 Sunday, September 13 | 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
📍 Bolivar Point Lighthouse Grounds, Port Bolivar

🔗 Learn more about the open house and the ongoing restoration at bolivarpointlighthouse.org

We love seeing preservation work move from plans and drawings to something the public can experience, and we can't wait to see what's next for this Texas landmark!

08/25/2026

💙 Member Spotlight: Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Museum

In the heart of South Dallas stands a museum honoring the remarkable legacy of Kathlyn Joy Gilliam, a pioneering civil rights leader, education advocate, and longtime champion for her community.

Gilliam served for 23 years as a Dallas ISD trustee after becoming the first African American woman elected to the board in 1974, and later became the first African American to serve as its president. From her advocacy for educational equity to her work revitalizing South Dallas, she dedicated her life to creating greater opportunities for children, families, and her community.

Today, the museum occupies Gilliam's former home, a City of Dallas historic landmark where community members once gathered around her kitchen table to envision and organize for change. Through exhibits, educational programs, and community meeting spaces, the museum continues her mission to preserve history, support education, and revitalize communities.

In 2022, THF provided a grant to help reproduce exhibit photographs and signage lost in fires and install a community mural at the historic home.

We're proud to count the Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Museum among our institutional members and to help celebrate the legacy of a woman who believed in the power of an organized community.

⭐ Interested in joining THF? We've recently introduced new membership levels with more ways to be part of our work preserving Texas history. Learn more: https://tinyurl.com/2fnvhyve

08/21/2026

🪵 On the Road with THF: Historic Log Buildings

From humble cabins to larger historic structures, log buildings are an important part of Texas's architectural heritage—and preserving them requires specialized knowledge and craftsmanship.

Preservation Texas will bring together preservation professionals, craftspeople, and scholars for its 2026 Historic Log Building Symposium, September 3–4 in Huntsville, on the grounds of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum at Sam Houston State University.

The two-day event will explore the history, construction, documentation, treatment, and preservation of Texas's historic log buildings. Thursday's optional field seminar will also offer hands-on demonstrations of traditional hewing and notching techniques.

📍 September 3–4 | Huntsville, Texas

Registration is open to anyone interested in learning more about protecting Texas's historic log buildings!
🔗 REGISTER HERE: https://www.preservationtexas.org/symposium

Pictured: The historic Guerrant Log Cabin in Huntsville.

08/19/2026

🎉 New THF Membership Levels are here

We've refreshed our membership options to make it easier to support our work! Whether you're a longtime THF member or have been thinking about joining, we invite you to explore our new membership levels and find the one that's right for you.

For our business community, new membership levels include opportunities for added visibility through recognition on the THF website and in our quarterly newsletter.

Already a member? Thank you for being part of THF! Not a member yet? We'd love to welcome you to the Foundation.

👉 Explore the new levels and join us at https://tinyurl.com/2fnvhyve

08/15/2026

🌅 On the Road with THF: Big Bend National Park

A few years ago, our board gathered in Big Bend, where they had the opportunity to experience one of the region's most iconic views: The Window in Big Bend National Park.

Big Bend holds a special place in Texas history as the first of Texas's two national parks, officially established on June 12, 1944. Today, its mountains, desert, river, archaeological sites, and historic resources preserve a remarkable record of both natural and human history.

And after sunset, another kind of preservation takes center stage. Big Bend has the darkest measured night skies of any national park in the lower 48 states and has been recognized as an International Dark Sky Park since 2012.

Texas has a remarkable way of reminding us that its heritage isn't just found in buildings and archives. It's also written into the landscapes that have shaped generations of Texans.

🌌 Have you ever experienced a Big Bend sunset—or looked up at its extraordinary night sky?

08/14/2026

🌟 Impact Wednesday… on Thursday! 🌟

We’re a day late, but the history we’re preserving is worth the wait.

A recent THF grant is supporting collection conservation at the Taylor Museum in Waco as part of a long-term master plan to reinterpret and care for its collections. The project includes conservation work on three documents central to the museum’s history: the Indian Treaty Memorandum, the 1851 Jacob De Cordova/Creuzbaur Map of Texas, and an 1869 map of the City of Waco.

Together, these rare documents offer a remarkable window into Texas history—and careful conservation will help ensure they remain available for research, interpretation, and future generations.

👏 We’re proud to support the Taylor Museum as it works toward the next chapter of its collections and exhibits.

🔗 Find out more about our grant program at texashistoricalfoundation.org

Address

Houston, TX

Website

http://www.texashistoricalfoundation.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Texas Historical Foundation posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Texas Historical Foundation:

Want your organization to be the top-listed Non Profit Organization in Houston?