Beginning in 1999, the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, and its local partners have made significant financial investments to restore many valuable historic courthouses throughout the state.
In order to protect and preserve these buildings for future generations, the Texas Courthouse Stewardship Program was created in 2005 to assist counties by fostering facility planning, budgeting and training in order to prevent the facilities from returning to a state of deferred maintenance and disrepair. The Program offers annual training workshops at regional hubs around the state, as well as virtual and in-person training opportunities through the Real Places annual conference. Additionally, THCPP builds community for courthouse stewards through a Facebook group and forthcoming listserv. If you are a courthouse steward and would like to be notified of training and join our listserv, please contact Donye Evans-Reese.
The Courthouse Stewardship Program is made possible through the generous support of the Texas Land Title Association. TLTA has sponsored the stewardship program since 2007, enabling training workshops around the state as well as the annual Courthouse Stewardship Award. We are pleased to welcome TLTA as sponsors, presenters, and partners of our regional training workshops and the annual Real Places conference.
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Grant-funded Counties Participating in Courthouse Stewardship Program
What's New
Regional Workshops
For the time being, THCPP will suspend in-person workshops. Information on future virtual workshops will be posted here. Virtual workshops will support training and networking opportunities for county officials and staff involved with day-to-day care and maintenance activities, as well as an introduction to the courthouse maintenance handbook. Contact Donye Evans-Reese with questions.
THCPP Promotes New Courthouse Maintenance Handbook
The Texas Historical Commission’s Historic Courthouse Maintenance Handbook is designed to help facilities directors, maintenance and housekeeping staff, and county officials in Texas maintain over 240 historic courthouse buildings throughout the state. The handbook was launched in digital form in Spring 2019, with fillable PDFs and links to resources.
Stewardship Award Presented to Cameron County
The 2021 Texas Courthouse Stewardship Award—designed to recognize counties that have established good stewardship practice to maintain their courthouses in restored condition—was presented to the Cameron County Courthouse, locally known as "the Dancy Building" after former county judge Oscar Dancy. The 1912 Classical Revival building was rededicated on October 17, 2006 after the county undertook its own exterior restoration in the 1990’s and a full interior restoration funded through a 2002 construction grant from the THC’s Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program. In addition to a commitment to outstanding building maintenance since the restoration, Cameron County’s facility staff consults courthouse program staff for technical guidance & review of proposed work, and regularly attends stewardship training offered through the THC.
Accepting this year’s Stewardship Award is The Honorable Eddie Treviño, Jr., the current Cameron County Judge.
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