READY, SET, GO!

The Texas Historical Commission (THC) 2023 application period for state historical markers will begin March 1, 2023. THC will post the 2023 application on February 1 at their website: https://www.thc.texas.gov/preserve/projects-and-programs/state-historical-markers/apply-historical-marker

To be eligible for the state’s program, local applications must first be reviewed and recommended by their County Historical Commission.  This means that interested individuals and entities must electronically submit their state historical marker applications to the Dallas County Historical Commission (DCHC).  Applicants are strongly encouraged to work with the DCHC's Marker Committee early in the application period to review and potentially revise their application. The DCHC will accept state historical marker applications from February 1, 2023, to April 15, 2023. To be connected with the DCHC Marker Committee, please email Dallas County Planning & Development staff at  DCHC@dallascounty.org.

DALLAS COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION: “Leave a Mark on History”

The Dallas County Historical Commission, which consists of fifteen individuals appointed by the Dallas County Commissioners Court, serves as the County's primary advisory body on historic preservation matters.  Its mission is to preserve, protect, and promote the historical resources of Dallas County for the education, enjoyment, and economic benefit of the County's residents.  It is responsible for providing the first level of review for State historical marker requests, and it typically conducts two-to-three special projects per year.  Staff support is provided by the County's Planning & Development department.

For more information about the County’s Historical Commission, please watch the following video or email DCHC@dallascounty.org.

2022-2023 HISTORICAL COMMISSION MISSION STATEMENT, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES 

To help guide its work during 2022-2023, the County's Historical Commission has adopted the following mission statement, goals, and objectives:                                                                   

MISSION STATEMENT:    The mission of the Dallas County Historical Commission is to preserve, protect, and promote the historic resources of Dallas County to benefit sustained education, enjoyment, economic value, and enhancement of quality of life for all.

To accomplish this mission, the Historical Commission will encourage and assist in the development of State historical markers, advise the Dallas County Commissioners Court on historical matters, communicate and work with other local historical organizations, and make the history of Dallas County accessible to the public through such activities as the Commission's website, the regular publication of an electronic newsletter, and the sponsorship and the holding of conferences and special events.          

GOALS:                                                                                                           

  1. To raise awareness of the Dallas County Historical Commission and the services it provides.
  2. To advise the Dallas County Commissioners Court on historical matters.
  3. To serve as the local resource for State Historical Markers, providing guidance and support to applicants as State Historical Marker applications are received and reviewed. 
  4. To publish a quarterly digital newsletter, available to the public, known as The Chronicle.
  5. To encourage the acknowledgement of history that has previously been under-recognized, through the Dallas County Historical Commission's Untold Marker Program and the Texas Historical Commission's Undertold Marker Program.
  6. To join with other historical organizations in the support of the annual Dallas Legacies History Conference.

HISTORICAL COMMISSION PROVIDING FUNDING FOR UNTOLD HISTORY MARKERS 

Because there are key aspects of Dallas County's history that remain unacknowledged and because the cost of obtaining a State marker can prevent many organizations and individuals from commemorating this history, the Dallas County Historical Commission is providing funding during the State's current marker application period for markers which address these untold elements.

Originally operated for two years on a pilot basis, the program was permanently authorized in 2018 and will provide about one-half of the cost of a small historical marker.

Information about this funding can be accessed through the link provided below and by emailing DCHC@dallascounty.org.  

Applications for the Commission's funding must be electronically  submitted. Check back here for updates.

DALLAS COUNTY UNTOLD HISTORY MARKER FUNDING PROGRAM

 

HISTORICAL COMMISSION ARTICLE ON DISAPPEARING NEIGHBORHOODS PUBLISHED 

An article about the Old North Dallas and La Bajada neighborhoods that was written by Historical Commission members Patricia Hicks and Juanita Nañez was recently published in the Spring 2018 issue of Legacies

The article discusses how, over time, transportation has affected these two historic ethnic neighborhoods (Old North Dallas began as a freedman’s community just north of downtown after the Civil War and La Bajada, an Hispanic neighborhood, came into existence during the 1920s-1940s at the western edge of the Continental Bridge).

Legacies is a journal that is exclusively devoted to the history of Dallas and North Central Texas.

A copy of the article written on these two neighborhoods can be accessed through the link provided below.

THE IMPACT OF TRANSPORTATION ON HISTORIC ETHNIC NEIGHBORHOODS

Photo Courtesy of Dallas Mexican American Historical League

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