- Wharton County Historical Commission thanks DAR member Hazel Foltyn for the thoughtful and patriotic displays she has been creating inside the county courthouse each month this entire year. Each display has a theme, all related to patriotism and Texas history. Hazel’s displays can be found on the deck below the staircase. If you know Hazel, be sure to thank her for the time and effort she puts into each project.
- We have approved the proposed marker texts for: Drastata Family Farm (Taiton), First Baptist Missionary Church (Glen Flora), Roberts Family Cemetery (Burr), St. John’s Nepomucene Catholic Church Cemetery (New Taiton) and LULAC Wharton County (which was a successful Undertold Story application).
- The two applications made in the most recent round, 1854 Jail and Louise Depot, were approved and we will be seeing those markers at a future date. The marker application window for 2024 will open on March 1 and close on May 15. If you have a topic in mind that you wish to submit for consideration then, please get in touch with Pat Blair. There are 3 categories of markers: cemetery, RTHL (Registered Texas Historic Landmark), and subject. The subject must be at least 50 years old to be considered.
- Documenting historic cemeteries: We are striving to document as many of our cemeteries as possible so that we can assist the Texas Historical Commission in updating its database, which also appears on this website. There are more than 70 cemeteries in Wharton County. If you have knowledge about a specific cemetery and would like to help document it, contact Pat Blair.
- Texas Freedom Colonies Project: We are collaborating with the Texas Freedom Colonies Project to document historic Freedom Colonies in the county. If you have information about a local African American community and/or cemetery, please get in touch with Pat Blair.
- Ongoing projects:
- courthouse tours: 1st Saturday of every month, by WCHC members,
- book talks by our County Historian Merle Hudgins on her book War Between the States Changed Texas Forever,
- advocating for the preservation of Stephen F. Austin Elementary School (now known as Minnie Mae Hopper) as an educational resource in Wharton.
The following publications are available at Wharton County Historical Museum, 979-532-2600:
- Hola Ranger, published in 2022 by David R. Vela, former Director of the National Park Service, $15 each.
- Merle Reue Hudgins’ book War Between States Changed Texas Forever, published April 2017, is available as a 2-volume set for $75, plus $10 to ship.
- We are in the process of revising and reprinting Marking the Way through Wharton County, originally published in 1996, a guide for travelers wanting to see the county’s historic sites. When complete, the publication will be available at the Chamber of Commerce and Wharton County Historical Museum, both on Richmond Road in Wharton.