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TEXAS BAR FOUNDATION PARTNERS WITH PRESERVATION TEXAS
TO EDUCATE TEXANS ABOUT THE ROLE OF RESTORED COUNTY COURTHOUSES IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN TEXAS
AUSTIN, TEXAS…Preservation Texas is joining forces with the Texas Bar Foundation in an educational outreach effort to increase the awareness of and appreciation for the Texas system of justice.
Through a grant, the Texas Bar Foundation is funding “Shaping Places for the Administration of Justice,” a program that will take Preservation Texas’ traveling exhibit of historic Texas courthouses and its 30-minute, PBS-produced courthouse video to communities throughout Texas for display for both children’s and adult groups. The exhibit will travel to 10 Texas courthouses beginning this spring.
“The eyes of Texas and the nation are upon us because of our magnificent historic courthouses,” said Julianne Fletcher, Preservation Texas executive director. “We believe all historic county courthouses should be restored and preserved. We want our lawyers and judges to serve with pride in historic courthouses that are unlike any others in the nation, and we want our citizens to understand and value our unique system of justice.”
“Children will visit the exhibit and learn about our justice system and what it has meant not only in the lives of those who came before, but what it means in their own lives,” added Fletcher. “Adults, too, will learn about their heritage and are encouraged to participate in grass-roots courthouse restoration and preservation efforts, which require strong local involvement to be successful. We commend the Texas Bar Foundation for its vision in recognizing that fully functional, restored courthouses are the future for the administration of justice in Texas.”
Preservation Texas, Inc. is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our state's historic resources by direct action and by empowering individuals and local and state organizations through partnerships in education, communications, and advocacy. Preservation Texas brought endangered historic courthouses to the attention of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1998, and the Trust named them to its list of Eleven Most Endangered Places in the nation that year.
More than 230 of Texas’ historic courthouses have been restored, are in the process of developing a master plan for restoration, or are in need of restoration. “Shaping Places for the Administration of Justice” is a new addition to the efforts of Preservation to protect these treasures.
For more information on “Shaping Places for the Administration of Justice,” phone Preservation Texas, Inc. at 512-472-0102. If your courthouse has not been restored and you want to be one of the 10 counties to have a visit by the Courthouse Team, please contact PT and make arrangements. | 
