Robertson County Historical Commission
S p e c i a l N e e d F o r I n d i v i d u a l C o n t r i b u t i o n s The Robertson County Historical Commission seeks financial contributions from Robertson County residents and others with an interest in the county to help bring historic county maps online and develop an interactive, clickable online county map. A Map Project Funding goal of ~$4,850 has been established. Map Sponsorship Opportunities identifies maps that need to be brought online. Having these maps online will tremendously assist Robertson County researchers. Your financial support is needed to help this public service effort realize its full potential. Sponsor a map with a date of importance to your family or contribute whatever amount you wish. Individual contributions of any size will be greatly appreciated. The following individual & community contribution levels might serve as a guideline:
M a i l I n Y o u r C o n t r i b u t i o n T o d a y !
Summary The map project seeks to:
#1 Photocopy and place online historic
maps of Robertson County; In recent years, efforts have been made to identify and locate Robertson County's 155+ cemeteries, 70+ historic markers, 100+ historic towns & communities (some of which have vanished or moved and no longer appear on maps). Burial lists have been created for most cemeteries; historic marker inscriptions have been transcribed; GPS latitude and longitude coordinates have been recorded; driving instructions have been written; & Handbook of Texas Online (HofTO) articles have been located. Online interactive and historic maps of the county have also been identified and linked to the Robertson County TXGenWeb site. Maps of importance to Robertson County's history have been found in print form at the U.S. Library of Congress, Texas State Library & Archives Commission, Texas General Land Office, & in private collections. Not available online, these need to be photocopied, digitized, and placed online.
A map project funding goal of ~$4,850 has been
established to accomplish the following activities:
#1 Copy historic maps & place them online. (Cost: ~$2,500);
Organization Name & Contact Information Cathy Lazarus Tax Status Of Organization Robertson County Historical Commission - tax-exempt, part of county government Total Project Cost & Amount Requested Total project cost is ~$4,850; Amount requested is ~$4,850. Project Description Robertson County is a diverse rural & agricultural county located half-way between Houston & Dallas. The county's 16,000 residents are 51% White, 24% Black, 15% Hispanic, 0.2% Asian, & 7.8% Other. Robertson County was settled by diverse groups as well. Communities founded by Irish, German, Polish, & Italian immigrants still exist today. Robertson County also benefited from early migrations of settlers from Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, & other states. Hearne, the county's largest town, is located at the crossroads of the Missouri Pacific & Southern Pacific Railroads. Not wanting to let the Information Age pass the county by, the Robertson County Historical Commission (RCHC) & its volunteers have been working hard to create a vibrant and dynamic Internet presence that shares Robertson County's story with the rest of the world. The Robertson County TXGenWeb site at www.robertsoncounty.info is the official website for the RCHC. This popular website gets 1,000+ hits every month from Internet visitors throughout TX and the US (40,000+ visitors since the counter was installed three years ago). This site consistently pulls in rave reviews (31 favorable entries in the past six months alone) on its guestbook at www.rootsweb.com/~txrober2/GUESTBOOK.htm. The site utilizes a cadre of volunteers (both local and from around the country) who provide information about historic places in the county, adopt & walk cemeteries to create burial lists, type & scan reference materials, locate materials at the county courthouse & elsewhere, conduct & share their own genealogical research, etc. (see www.rootsweb.com/~txrober2/VolunteerOpportunities.htm) RCHC even hosts a Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) worksite where older Americans assist in bringing important historical and genealogical information online.
The goals of the Robertson County Map Project are
four-fold: #1 Photocopy, digitize, & place online
four historic county maps that are in the U.S. Library of Congress Map
Collection, 17 historic county maps that are at the Texas State Library &
Archives, & one historic county map that is in a private collection;
Organizational Involvement: The RCHC has been methodically identifying all of Robertson County's 155+ cemeteries (www.rootsweb.com/~txrober2/CEMETERIES.htm), 70+ historic markers (www.rootsweb.com/~txrober2/HistoricPlaces.htm), & 100+ historic towns & communities (www.rootsweb.com/~txrober2/TownsCommunities.htm; some of which have vanished & no longer appear on maps). Burial lists have been created for most cemeteries; historic marker inscriptions have been transcribed; GPS latitude & longitude coordinates have been recorded; Handbook of Texas Online (HofTO) & other articles have been located. The Robertson County Cemetery List has grown exponentially in recent years. Originally totaling 50 cemeteries, this list now includes over 155 cemeteries and burial locations. This list expansion is due, in large part, to the efforts of Volunteer County Coordinator William Kent Brunette and his Robertson County-based dad, Bill Brunette, who have spent lots of time trying to locate and record the geographic coordinates of all of Robertson County's cemeteries. With a global positioning system (GPS) unit in hand, the Brunettes, Robertson County Historical Commission Chair Cathy Lazarus, and other volunteers have been looking at land records, knocking on doors, badgering relatives, calling property owners, traipsing across pastures, wading through creeks, and fighting underbrush to find lost or forgotten cemeteries. Articles in local newspapers about their efforts along with Find That Cemetery responses have resulted in discoveries of additional cemeteries. This information is helpful to genealogists, historians, & others. Knowing the location of cemeteries & historic sites is particularly helpful to TDOT & some companies since a cemetery's or an historic site's presence can stop or delay multi-million dollar road projects, mining operations, oil & gas well exploration & drilling activities. The fruits of these labors were turned over to the Texas Department of Transportation (TDOT) which has updated the Robertson County map to reflect all of the county's known cemeteries. This map and an inset map for Hearne are available online at Robertson County and Hearne. At some point in the near future, the county's 70+ historic markers will be added to these online maps. With the TDOT phase of this project now nearing completion, a computer programmer with knowledge of mapping/cartography programs and with the appropriate computer software will be hired to create a clickable, interactive, online county map where visitors can click on the names of different cemeteries and be linked to their burial lists. Similarly, visitors can click on historic markers or the names of historic towns/communities and be linked to relevant information from the Texas Historical Commission and the Handbook of Texas Online. For example, clicking on "Wootan Wells" will link a visitor to the Handbook of Texas Online article about this now vanished, once famous, turn-of-the-century spa/resort. RCHC has also been identifying & linking to online historic maps at various dates in the county's past (www.rootsweb.com/~txrober2/INTERACTIVEHISTORICMAPS.htm). Additional maps of importance to Robertson County's history have been located (see Map Sponsorship Opportunities). Not available online, these maps need to be photocopied, digitized, & brought online. For example, the U.S. Library of Congress Collection includes an April 1922 Map of Robertson County Property Owners (www.rootsweb.com/~txrober2/1922Map.htm). This four-part photocopied online map gives a fuzzy example of a small part of one of the maps that could appear on this site. When professionally photocopied and digitized, this map of the entire county would provide a treasure trove of information on property ownership, cemetery locations, historic towns/communities in the county 80+ years ago. Similarly, the 1937 Texas Highway Map (www.rootsweb.com/~txrober2/1936HwyMap.htm) from the Texas State Library and Archives Map Collection is a cut-and-paste version that would be substantially improved when professionally prepared for online display. The plat showing the original New Baden Landowners (www.rootsweb.com/~txrober2/NEWBADENPLAT.htm) is an example of how a professionally reproduced map would appear online. Expected results:
Clients include: local school children learning about local history; local genealogy & history researchers; local historical organizations; local public libraries (i.e., four small Robertson County public libraries & Carnegie Center For Brazos Valley History in Bryan); local educational institution libraries (i.e., Cushing Library Special Collections at Texas A&M University in College Station, Center For American History at the University of Texas at Austin, & Texas Collection at Baylor University in Waco); local Chambers of Commerce; Robertson County governmental offices; local towns & communities; media representatives & scholars researching Robertson County; Internet users (free access provided at www.robertsoncounty.info); & the general public.
Timetable: Complete #1
by 8.31.2003; Other Funding Sources & Amounts, Pending & Committed None. Expenses thus far have been borne by a volunteer who has purchased a GPS device & has been traveling around the county collecting information. Transportation & other expenses have been paid out of his own pocket. The Robertson County TXGenWeb site at www.rootsweb.com/~txrober2 is provided free-of-charge as a public service by RootsWeb. The TDOT update of the base map information was provided free-of-charge. Plans To Sustain Project Beyond The Term Of This Request The largest expense of the Robertson County Map Project is the photocopying and digitizing of the historic maps. After being placed online, these maps will remain at the Robertson County TXGenWeb site indefinitely. Each map will also be donated to the U.S. Library Of Congress (USLOC) & Texas State Archives & Library Commission (TSLAC) for permanent placement in their map collections & online display on their websites. These donated maps, which will be available to interested researchers through USLOC & TSLAC, will be suitable for most research, publication, digital, film, or video applications. The second largest expense is the creation of an interactive online map that will be available to Internet users free-of-charge. This resource will remain online at the Robertson County TXGenWeb site indefinitely. This interactive map will also be donated to the USLOC & TSLAC for use as above. The third largest expense is the printing of a paper map for sale as a fundraising project by RCHC. Once the map is created & printed, any further duplication costs (i.e., a second printing) would be covered by income from sales of the initial printing of the map. Mission Of Organization The Robertson County Historical Commission is the officially designated body in Robertson County to preserve & protect the county's rich cultural & historical heritage (website at www.rootsweb.com/~txrchc/RCHC.htm). As a part of county government, RCHC is tax-exempt. Project Evaluation & Publicity Plan The following will be used to evaluate items #1, #2, & #3:
#4 will be evaluated upon the number of requests for maps received from client groups listed above (after an initial distribution) and the number of maps sold. The following activities will be used to publicize the map project:
Line Item Budget For Project
Members Of The Robertson County Historical Commission (all Robertson County, TX residents)
The above grant proposal is being circulated to select foundations for possible funding. Individuals, businesses, civic, fraternal, & religious organizations, & others are free to contribute to this project. In the absence of foundation funding, volunteer contributions are needed to help bring this valuable information online and to print/distribute this updated historic map. Fund one or all of the numbered activities above or contribute towards an activity of your choosing. Any and all contributions appreciated. Make checks payable to Robertson County Historical Commission; write "Map Project" on the "memo" line. Send donations to:
Cathy Lazarus |
