78R7020 MMS-D

By:  Hilderbran                                                 H.C.R. No. 63 



CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, The Texas Historical Commission, whose 
responsibility is to protect and preserve the state's historic and 
prehistoric resources for the use, education, enjoyment, and 
economic benefit of present and future generations, celebrates its 
50th anniversary in 2003; and
	WHEREAS, Texas lawmakers, seeing a need to coordinate efforts 
to ensure the preservation of the state's unique history, created 
the Texas State Historical Survey Committee in 1953 to identify 
historic sites and resources across the state; and
	WHEREAS, Today that committee has come to be known as the 
Texas Historical Commission, an agency noted both nationally and 
internationally for its work in helping communities preserve their 
historic character and assisting Texans with questions and concerns 
about archeology, architecture, history, economic development, and 
heritage tourism; and
	WHEREAS, In fulfilling its mission as the state agency for 
historic preservation, the Texas Historical Commission has 
developed and is implementing a strategic plan that is detailed in 
the document Preserving Our Texas Heritage: A Statewide Plan for 
Texas; and
	WHEREAS, The Texas Historical Commission is working with 142 
counties to promote travel to historic sites and surrounding areas 
through the Texas Heritage Trails Program, an initiative designed 
to stimulate the state's regional economies; and
	WHEREAS, Another successful undertaking, the commission's 
Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, has drawn the 
attention of other states for its achievements in restoring 
historic county courthouses and promoting economic growth and 
development in county seats across the state, particularly in rural 
areas of Texas; and
	WHEREAS, In Matagorda Bay in 1995, Texas Historical 
Commission archeologists discovered one of the most important 
shipwrecks in North American history, La Salle's ship the Belle; 
their year-long excavation resulted in the recovery of more than a 
million artifacts and the conservation of the ship's hull; they 
then went on to excavate nearby Fort St. Louis, the state's first 
European settlement; and
	WHEREAS, The Texas Main Street Program, established in 1981, 
has become one of the most successful such endeavors in the nation, 
stimulating more than $880 million in private-sector downtown 
reinvestment, creating over 19,000 new jobs in Texas, and leading 
to the expansion or recruitment of more than 4,800 businesses; and
	WHEREAS, The Texas Historical Commission has distributed 
more than $2.4 million in grant money to assist Texas communities in 
establishing high standards of preservation through the Certified 
Local Government Program; it has also disbursed over $2 million to 
help save endangered historic buildings and important 
archeological sites through the Texas Preservation Trust Fund; and
	WHEREAS, More than 12,000 historical markers have been 
erected by the commission, the largest number in any state; in 
addition, the commission works to protect and designate historic 
cemeteries throughout Texas; and
	WHEREAS, The agency reaches out to communities through its 
county historical commissions; in 2002, more than 4,500 individuals 
donated 215,000 hours to local preservation efforts; and
	WHEREAS, For half a century, the Texas Historical Commission 
has initiated and carried out programs that have been instrumental 
in preserving the state's historic resources and that have 
contributed significantly to local economies; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas 
hereby extend sincere thanks to the Texas Historical Commission for 
its efforts in preserving the unique history of the Lone Star State 
and encourage all Texans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 
commission by visiting historic Texas sites throughout the year.