The Texas State Historical Association is looking squarely into the future although its roots are firmly embedded in encouraging the study of the past. Founded in the 1890s, it is the oldest learned society in the state of Texas. It fosters the study, teaching, appreciation, and reading of Texas history. Its home for most of its existence was located in Austin, Texas. Last fall, the TSHA (as it is popularly known by pronouncing its initials) moved its headquarters to the campus of the University of North Texas in Denton. Housed in brand new, sparkling office space, the association has been completely revamped, modernized, and streamlined to redouble its long-standing efforts to advance the cause of history in the Lone Star State. Under the leadership of its Director Kent Calder and its Chief Historian Randolph B. Campbell, the TSHA publishes the “Southwestern Historical Quarterly,” the “Riding Line” newsletter, and supervises “The Handbook of Texas,” which is a voluminous online encyclopedia of Texas history. The association also publishes the “Texas Almanac,” the state’s most venerable compendium of Texas facts and statistics. Each year, the TSHA sponsors an annual meeting open to all members at which those doing historical research about the state present their findings, while the conference also has a Texas book auction which attracts book lovers from across the nation. Importantly, under the direction of Steve Cure, the association sponsors a full range of educational and student-centered activities including a state-wide organization for students called the Junior Historians. The Educational Division also sponsors regional history competitions and the annual Texas History Day. The success of all these program has earned for the TSHA a book about its own history written by Dr. Richard MacCaslin entitled “At the Heart of Texas: One Hundred Years of the Texas State Historical Association.” Any person who is interested in the history of Texas ought to join the Texas State Historical Association. Since you are reading this blog that could mean you too! You can click the link to the membership page in the upper right of this blog. The THSA also has a Facebook page. Future posts on this blog will look at their programs in greater detail. Check out their homepage at
http://www.tshaonline.org/
