Preservation Texas Regional Field Trips are designed to provide an exclusive opportunity for our members to visit historic buildings and sites that are unrestored or not usually open to the public. Participants will be guided through the process of investigating historic buildings and cultural landscapes to discover evidence of a place’s origins, past use, and evolution, while learning how to think about historic sites from the point of view of a preservationist. 

The 2024 Central Texas Fall Field Trip will take place in Lampasas on Saturday, November 2nd. Please visit preservationtexas.org/lampasas2024 for more information.

OCTOBER LUNCH & LEARN WEBINAR  (Texas Archaeology Month)

Finding the remains of a trail that is hundreds of years old is not an easy task, but that is precisely what researcher Gary L. Pinkerton has sought to do. Trammel’s Trace was a former Caddo trail that was later used by early Anglo immigrants coming into Texas. Gary’s 2016 book, Trammel’s Trace: The First Road to Texas from the North, provides a history of that road and its namesake, Nicholas Trammell. In his years of researching the Trammel’s Trace and mapping its likely route, Gary has driven hundreds of miles of back roads, wandered down remains of abandoned logging roads, and followed survey notes from the Original Texas Land Surveys looking for physical evidence of the trail. His follow up work, Finding Trammel’s Trace: A Guide to Roads, Ruts, Trails, and Swales focuses on that process.

One of the few remaining swales that can be identified with certainty as part of Trammel’s Trace is located at the Trammel’s Trace crossing of the Sulphur River (near Maud in Northeast Texas) where Mark Epperson operated a Republic of Texas-era ferry. A recent proposal to raise the water level of Wright Patman Lake threatens to flood this archaeologically important site, which was included on the Most Endangered Places List in 2022. 

As part of our monthly Lunch and Learn Member Webinar Series, Gary will present a webinar discussing his work finding the remains of the historic Trammel’s Trace trail with a focus on the area around Epperson’s Ferry.

HOW TO REGISTER

Preservation Texas members can register in their online Preservation Texas account portal. Once logged in, click “Webinar Registration” in the left sidebar menu. If you are not a current member, we’d love to have you join or renew!

If you are unable to attend, don't worry! Lunch & Learn webinars will be recorded and uploaded to your online Preservation Texas account portal where you can watch or re-watch them later.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Gary L. Pinkerton is an independent research and author who have published three books of history. A fourth about early contraband trade in East Texas is coming in March 2025. His education as a social worker and his career in human resources, combined with his innate curiosity, continue to fuel more detailed looks into all types of sources for historical research. Gary is the Managing Director of the Alliance for Texas History and is a fellow of the East Texas Historical Association.

Before the 2024 Historic Log Building Summit in Nacogdoches, a Pre-Summit Field Seminar will be offered on Thursday, October 10th. This event will give participants an opportunity to visit several log structures in the Nacogdoches area.

Participants will begin the day with a visit to Mission Tejas State Park in Weches, where preservation professionals and historians will lead tours and discussions of the historic Rice Log House (1828) with a focus on its architecture and construction. A boxed lunch will be provided, during which members of the Cherokee County Historical Commission will share the history of the privately-owned Forest Hill Plantation.

In the afternoon, participants will have an exclusive opportunity to explore the unrestored 1847 log house at Forest Hill near Alto which was included on the 2024 Most Endangered Places List. Participants will engage in discussions about the building’s architecture, condition, and restoration needs.

Registration is $50 per person in addition to the Summit registration fee and is limited to 25 participants. Participants will travel in their own vehicles. Mission Tejas is 40 miles from the Fredonia Hotel, and Forest Hill Plantation is 30 miles from the Fredonia Hotel.

SEPTEMBER LUNCH & LEARN WEBINAR

As part of Preservation Texas's monthly Lunch and Learn Member Webinar Series, Jessica Anderson, Assistant Manager of the City of San Antonio's Deconstruction & Circular Economy Program, will present a webinar on the city's new deconstruction ordinance.

Construction and demolition account for the largest single-stream source of waste in the United States. In September of 2022, the City of San Antonio adopted a deconstruction ordinance requiring that historic buildings slated for demolition be fully deconstructed instead. With the approval of this ordinance, San Antonio became the largest city in the country to ensure that irreplaceable historic building materials are kept out of landfills and salvaged for reuse within the community. In this webinar, Jessica will discuss how deconstruction fits within the goals of preservation and why it is an impactful tool for sustainability and public health. She will also explain how the program has used social media to share what they’ve learned in the first two years since the ordinance has been in place.

This webinar is AIA CES approved. AIA members receive 1.5 LU|HSW credits for participating.

HOW TO REGISTER

Preservation Texas members can register in their online Preservation Texas account portal. Once logged in, click “Webinar Registration” in the left sidebar menu. If you are not a current member, we’d love to have you join or renew!

If you are unable to attend, don't worry! Lunch & Learn webinars will be recorded and uploaded to your online Preservation Texas account portal where you can watch or re-watch them later.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Jessica Anderson is the assistant program manager for Deconstruction & Circular Economy in the City of San Antonio's Office of Historic Preservation (OHP). In this role, she reviews demolition requests, helps owners and contractors navigate the city’s deconstruction ordinance, and assists with coordination of deconstruction contractor trainings. Prior to joining the deconstruction team, she was a case manager for ScoutSA, the landmark and historic district designations arm of OHP, before moving to the design review team, where she evaluated proposed repairs and modifications to historic structures as well as plans for new construction in historic districts. Jessica earned an M.S. in historic preservation from The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture.

As part of Preservation Texas's monthly Lunch and Learn Member Webinar Series, Architectural Historian Megan McDonald with Post Oak Preservation Solutions will present a webinar exploring how oral history can be employed to craft robust National Register narratives on Wednesday, August 21st at noon.

Preservation Texas members can register in their online Preservation Texas account portal. Once logged in, click “Webinar Registration” in the left sidebar navigation menu.

If you are not a current member, we’d love to have you join or renew!

Preservation Texas has been awarded an Undertold Historical Marker from the Texas Historical Commission recognizing the use of Chinese labor in the construction of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad in 1870. These skilled and experienced workers were the first known group of Chinese laborers to come to Texas.

A dedication ceremony will be held in Kosse on Friday, June 7th, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. near the W Washington St. railroad crossing (behind Branded Market). This event is free and open to the public.

The rehabilitation of the San Agustín Cathedral in Laredo is one of twelve projects being recognized with a 2023 Preservation Texas Honor Award. The 150-year old structure was previously included on Preservation Texas’s Most Endangered Places List in 2019. The Honor Award ceremony will be held at the Cathedral on Thursday, January 25, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.

"San Agustín Cathedral is a Laredo landmark that has served as a cultural, spiritual, and architectural beacon for generations”, said Evan Thompson, Executive Director of Preservation Texas. “The investments that have been made by the Diocese will ensure that the Cathedral stands proudly for many years to come. This project is an excellent example of how the 25% state historic preservation tax credit can be used to fund the rehabilitation of historic religious structures in Texas.”

Presented every other year, Preservation Texas Honor Awards recognize outstanding efforts to restore, preserve, rehabilitate or reconstruct historic places that have been individually included on Preservation Texas's Most Endangered Places List or relate to a previous statewide thematic endangered listing. The 2023 Honor Awards celebrate the remarkable efforts made by individuals, organizations, and communities to rehabilitate once imperiled historic places, breathing new life into cherished structures while honoring their historical significance and architectural integrity. Visit preservationtexas.org/honorawards to learn more.

Join Preservation Texas on Thursday November 16, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. at Lamar University’s Dishman Art Museum for a lecture by Stephen Fox titled “The Twentieth-Century Architectural Heritage of Texas’s Golden Triangle: Beaumont, Orange, Port Arthur”.

This event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Visit preservationtexas.org/beaumont to learn more and reserve your seat!

The 2023 Southeast Texas Regional Preservation Summit will be held on Thursday, November 16th at the McFaddin-Ward House Visitor Center in Beaumont. The Summit will focus on historic preservation issues in costal Texas including disaster preparedness and recovery, case studies, best practices, and the presentation of two Southeast Texas Honor Awards. Registration includes a box lunch and an opportunity to tour the historic McFaddin-Ward House. 

Visit preservationtexas.org/setxsummit for more information.

The 2023 Central Texas Regional Preservation Summit will be held on Thursday, September 21st from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Dunbar Recreation Center in San Marcos.

The program will focus on serving an audience of local preservation professionals, commission volunteers, and community advocates. Topics will include neighborhood gentrification, density and appropriate infill issues, improving local design review standards, and local government incentives for preservation.

For more information, visit preservationtexas.org/ctxsummit.

The 2023 Northeast Texas Regional Preservation Summit will be held on Thursday, September 7th from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Rose Garden Center in Tyler.

The program will draw on the experience of a diverse group of people and organizations across the Northeast Texas region. Attendees will learn about some of the fundamental processes and tools deployed to identify, promote, fundraise, and save the historic buildings significant to their communities.

For more information, visit preservationtexas.org/netxsummit.

The 2023 North Central Texas Regional Preservation Summit will be held on May 11, 2023 at the Crazy Water Hotel in Mineral Wells. The Summit aims to educate and empower local preservationists, building grassroots support and capacity for historic preservation in North Central Texas.

Attendees will hear from a range of experts in preservation, history, architecture and planning. The program will feature informative sessions with topics including Mineral Wells history, the Bankhead Highway, Texas Tabernacles, Downtown Redevelopment, Tarrant County’s Preservation Plan, Abilene’s West Texas Utilities Company Power Plant, and more. The program will conclude with the announcement of the 2023 list of Texas’s Most Endangered Places. Lunch will be provided.

For more information, visit preservationtexas.org/nctxsummit.