Texas Historical Foundation in Austin, Travis County, United States | Historical Society

Welcome to Texas Historical Foundation, Austin, Texas, United States. The Texas State Historical Survey Committee (now the Texas Historical Commission) was created by the Fifty-third Legislature and approved and filed on June 4, 1953. Its objectives were to survey the State of Texas to determine who the private preservationists were, what the endangered artifacts, shrines, and papers consisted of, and where these treasures were located. Governor Allan Shivers appointed 18 members to the committee and assigned eight directives. One of these directives was to create the Texas Historical Foundation for the purpose of funding the endeavors of the Committee.
For the first 10 years, until the State began to appropriate funds for the preservation projects undertaken by the TSHSC, most funding came from the Texas Historical Foundation. In 1965 the TSHSC and Texas Historical Foundation became two separate organizations but the relationship remained as it started, with the THF raising money to implement the programs of the TSHSC.
In 1971 as the Legislature began to fund a fairly comprehensive program for the Survey Committee, the THF began to move from its original purpose as a funding vehicle into an activist role of its own, seeking worthy projects and exploring some of the critical needs in the preservation field. Several endowments have been established within the THF that give the organization a greater opportunity to support preservation projects statewide.
Since 1971 the Texas Historical Foundation, Austin, Texas has continued to pursue these projects, raise money to fund them, and help to create an awareness of preservation through the quarterly publication HERITAGE magazine.
THF is managed by a Board of Directors from throughout the State who are committed to the continuing development of financial resources to insure the preservation of Texas heritage for future generations.