Archives
- Upcoming - SFASU public history students will have the opportunity to intern at the Lake Area Hospice's Memory Center in Jasper and Lewis Hotel in San Augustine. Students will facilitate the collection of oral histories and the digitization of personal papers and photographs using a Center for Regional Heritage Research workstation and portal. This will be an official part of LAH's bereavement process. These materials will be made available to the public through the digital collections of the East Texas Research Center.
- Hodges, Greve, and Pierce Collection (summer 2008) - Chris Elzen served as project coordinator. The documents (ranging from 1830s to 1970s) consist of the papers belonging to three attorneys who practiced at the firm. They were acquired from the clearing out of the office of Judge Jack Pierce, the last attorney to practice at the firm. The collection includes letters, correspondence, land deeds, timber deeds, oil and gas leases, debt collection, civil court cases, criminal court cases, estate matters, various legal matters, maps, and approximately five photographs. The bulk of the materials are from the 1910s to the 1960s. The papers were supplemented by family members. Preservation and Processing was coordinated through the Center for Regional Heritage Research. The collection is now housed at the East Texas Research Center and was opened for research on October 8, 2009. Sara Baker produced a video chronicling the process. Cassandra Bennett and Chris Wilkins assisted on the project. Judge Jack Pierece died on August 30, 2012.
- East Texas Research Center (spring 2006) - Students wrote descriptions for one hundred previously not described images in an archival collection at the East Texas Research Center. Students focused on the material culture evident in the images.
Nacogdoches Scenes and Events Thompson Family Lumber Enterprises
Cemetery Workshops
- March 31, 2012 - Students in Dr. Beisel's freshman-level US History to 1877 course worked on cleaning a previously undocumented cemetery east of Nacogdoches along Highway 21 in the Sand Hill area. At the present time there are two known markers, but community members recall seeing several more during their childhoods. The area was very overgrown and we will go out again in fall 2012.
- October 1-2, 2010 - Grave Marker Types, Styles, and Motifs by Nancy Adgent and edited by Dr. Beisel and Dr. George Avery was released in conjunction with a workshop in San Augustine at the Theater (9:00-11:30 am) and in Rusk at the Heritage Center of Cherokee County (10:30-noon) each workshop had a brief lecture and then a tour of a local cemetery led by Nancy Adgent. Within a year we gave away over two hundred copies of the guide.
- June 18, Friday - A gravestone identification (stone geology) workshop led by Dr. Beisel and Dr. George Avery (after consultation by geologist Dr. Kevin Stafford) was a great success. We left the Forestry Building at SFASU at 10:00 am, stopped at the Selman-Roarke Cemetery alongside Highway 21 5 miles east of Alto in Cherokee County, continued on to Glenwood Cemetery in Crockett, had lunch on the square and returned to Nacogdoches via Enon Cemetery 3 miles south of Highway 7 in Houston County. We had 17 people in addition to the local TV station, KTRE, at the first stop and and additional five people joined us in Crockett. For a few weeks you will be able to watch the segment on the evening news.
- On April 30, 2010 the Preserve America grant hosted a Friday workshop with Jason Church of the National Center for Preservation Training and Technology in Sabine County. There was a morning lecture at 11:00 a.m. at the Huffman Public Library in Hemphill. After a lunch break, there was a tombstone cleaning session at the Gatsby New Zion Cemetery in Geneva, a Historic Texas Cemetery and partner cemetery of the Preserve America grant. View the flyer. Public history MA student Kaitlin Wieseman got some hands-on practice cleaning a tombstone - check out our "results" flyer.
- In May 2009 there was a two-week series of workshops sponsored by the History Department, the Center for Regional Heritage Research, and Humanities Texas and organized by Dr. Perky Beisel. The following materials demonstrate activities of public history students and other members of the community as part of these workshops. The presentations were by staff of the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (Church and Smith), the Texas Historical Commission (Hite), and an independent scholar who is a board member of the Association for Gravestone Studies.
- Postcard for Week 1
- Video: Stone Cleaning at Oak Grove Cemetery with Jason Church
- Powerpoint: Cemetery Monument Conservation by Jason Church
- Video: Vegetation at Oak Grove Cemetery with Debbie Smith
- Powerpoint: Cemetery Vegetation by Debbie Smith
- Postcard for Week 2
- Video: Documentation at Oak Grove Cemetery with Gerron Hite
- Video: Identifying Tombstones at Oak Grove Cemetery with Nancy Adgent
Cemetery Cleanups
_rdax_334x500.jpg "March 31, 2012 - Teutsch Cemetery 3")
_rdax_500x334.jpg "March 31, 2012 - Teutsch Cemetery 2")
_rdax_500x334.jpg "March 31, 2012 - Teutsch Cemetery 1")
Cultural Resources Management
- City of Nacogdoches Preserve America Grant (Fall 2009-Fall 2011) - This grant, managed by SFA faculty, provided assistantships to Public History students, hands-on documentation, publicity and communication management, and workshop opportunities for many graduate students. The grant included five counties along the El Camino Real (from east to west) Sabine, San Augustine, Nacogdoches, Cherokee, and Houston and focused on identifying cemeteries that needed assistance with interpretation and preservation as a way to encourage heritage tourism along the historic route. A series of mini-grants provided funding for cemetery clearing, fence construction, and tombstone repair. Dr. Beisel and Dr. Avery (an archaeologist in Social & Cultural Analysis) organized several hands-on workshops open to graduate students on stone identification, best practices for cleaning, and documentation. In Spring 2010 several graduate students conducted research on the individuals buried at the Zion Hill and Oak Grove Cemeteries in Nacogdoches which will be included in a database linked by GIS to maps of each cemetery. Drs. Beisel and Avery edited Deep East Texas Grave Markers Tyles, Styles, and Motifs written by Nancy Adgent and published in October 2010 by the SFA Press on behalf of the grant. As a result of this work, they were awarded an Oakley Award from the Association of Gravestone Studies at its annual conference in June 2011. See Cemetery Workshops for more information.
- Houston County (summer 2009) - The goal was to identify historic sites, buildings, structures, and objects associated with events or people significant at the local and/or state levels and resources that embody distinctive characteristics in order to assist in future planning, to renew local pride, to answer historical questions, and to develop heritage tourism. SFA students traveled 90% of the county's known cemeteries and 60% of the county's known THC markers. At each cemetery, students used GPS to map the perimeter, internal structures, and notable objects; recorded data about the cemetery's physical location, condition, markers, and individuals buried in the site using the Texas Historical Commission's Historic Texas Cemetery Designation Form (12/2010 updated version) and instructions; recorded detailed information about each marker in every cemetery with twenty or fewer marked burials using the Texas Historical Commission's Individual Marker Form; and photographed the cemetery as a whole, its entrance, internal structures and objects, and notable burial markers. Students completed a departmental survey form, GPSed the location, and photographed the resource for each THC marker, historic structure, or other resource.
Pictures from the Fall 2009 East Texas Historical Association meeting where we presented the results of the summer's work can be viewed in the "Presentations" section at the bottom of this page. The students involved included Public History MA candidates Chris Elzen, Lisa Bentley, and Pamela Ringle. The undergraduates included history major Cassandra Bennett, geography major Joyce Preston, and fine arts major Brenna Kelley. In addition, Brenna Kelley produced a video highlighting the summer's work.
Presentation to Houston County Historical Commission (PowerPoint)
The Oakley Certificate of Merit, Association for Gravestone Studies
Historic Preservation
- Beginning in Fall 2010 the Public History program is working with the City of Nacogdoches to resurvey its five historic zoning districts and independent structures utilizing GIS technology in order to update the former 1986 survey as well as make the research available online. The students in the Fall 2010 undergraduate American Architecture course, HIS414, surveyed the entire Downtown Historic District using paper survey forms, Juno Trimble units, and cameras. In March 2011 the Center for Regional Heritage Research web designer began developing a website with "clickable" maps based on this research and previous documentation.
- Nacogdoches County (summer 2007) - The goal was to develop a sense of the built environment in the immediate outskirts of the City of Nacogdoches. This was conducted as part of the research for the City of Nacogdoches Visionaries in Preservation Program. The students recorded 503 resources using a form developed from the Texas Historical Commission's survey form after previous use in Fall 2006 by students in Introduction to Public History. The project resulted in cataloging the following structures: 34 agricultural, 4 cemeteries, 6 cisterns/tanks/wells, 7 commercial, 58 domestic, 8 religious, 3 transportation. The following students participated: Angela Henderson, Laura Williams, Curtis Odom, Paul Maleski, Chay Runnels.
Sample Survey Form
Examples: Christian Cemetery, log barn, modern house, barn, house w/adjacent barn, bridge, Lilly Grove Baptist Church
Video - Pecan Orchard Neighborhood, Nacogdoches (fall 2006) - Students prepared a survey, requested by city officials and residents, of historic structures in the Pecan Orchard area of Nacogdoches in hopes of preparing a historic zoning district.
Plat Map
Block Overview by Group
Pecan Orchard District Report B
Museums
- Heritage Center of Cherokee County, Stone Fort Museum, Millard's Crossing Historic Village, Newton County Museum, and the East Texas Research Center (spring 2010) - Students used D-Plan Lite to develop disaster plans for each institutions collections.
- Millard's Crossing Historic Village, Inc. (spring 2010) - Students accessioned and re-housed documents and photographs using Past Perfect software.
- Millard's Crossing Historic Village, Inc. (spring 2007) - Students cataloged artifacts in the Millard-Lee House at Millard's Crossing Historic Village using Past Perfect software.
Past Perfect example
pictures - Houston County Visitors Center and Museum (fall 2006) - Students developed exhibit plans and grant applications for the Houston county Visitors Center and Museum.
Project Guidelines
pictures
Millard-Lee House at Millard's Crossing Historic Village (Spring 2007)
Houston County Visitors Center and Museum (Fall 2006)
_rdax_500x375.JPG "Presentation")
_rdax_500x375.JPG "Presentation")
_rdax_500x375.JPG "The Group at Work")
Oral History
During the summer of 2010 the African American Heritage Project of Nacogdoches (AAHP) graciously and excitingly agreed to work with graduate students enrolled in an SFA Public History graduate seminar on oral history taught by Dr. Paul J. P. Sandul by providing interviewees. The results are a rich history and cultural snapshot of African Americans in Nacogdoches specifically, and all of Nacogdoches generally.
-
To hear the interviews, read transcripts, and learn more, go to the project.
During the summer of 2012, Lufkin community leader Reverend Bettie Kennedy graciously agreed to work with graduate students enrolled in an SFA Public History graduate seminar on oral history taught by Dr. Paul J. P. Sandul by providing interviewees and support. The project also represents a unique opportunity for oral history to play a role in fostering a broader community identity for the Lufkin African American community in general and for all East Texas residents regardless of race.
- To hear the interviews, read transcripts, and learn more, go to the project.
Dr. Sandul and Dr. Beisel led an Oral History Workshop on June 25th at SFASU that was free and open to the public. Dr. Bobby H. Johnson, oral historian extraordinaire gave a very well received mid-day talk. We had 32 attendees. This workshop was co-sponsored by the Department of History and the City of Nacogdoches's Preserve America Grant. We began at 10:00 a.m. and continued until 4:30 p.m. During the workshop we provided handouts and referenced several organizations and websites.
-
The Oral History Association http://www.
oralhistory.org -
Texas Oral History Association http://www.baylor.
edu/toha/ -
Baylor Institute for Oral History http://www.baylor.edu/
oral_history/ -
Texas Historical Commission's Fundamentals of Oral History Guidelines
African American Museum, Dallas (summer 2010) - As a part of a collaborative effort between the African American Museum in Dallas, the Center for Regional Heritage Research, and the Department of History, History graduate assistants will transcribe the 2009-2010 interviews. Dr. Sandul and Dr. Beisel are working with the museum's Archives and Oral History Program committee to develop a website to make these primary sources available to the public. The complete website release is tentatively planned for September 2011.
African American Museum, Dallas (summer 2009) - As a part of a collaborative effort between the African American Museum in Dallas, the Center for Regional Heritage Research, and the Department of History, seven students transcribed fifty-nine interviews with educators in Dallas County conducted as part of the museum's Archives and Oral History Program. These interviews will be available through the museum's website. In April 2010, we received an award for this work.
Oral History Transcription (spring 2008) - Megan Morgan transcribed an oral history interview conducted by Dr. Bobby H. Johnson in August 1991.
Oral History Lesson Plans (summer 2007) - Curtis Odom created lesson plans for 11th and 12th grade social studies classes based on Dr. Bobby H. Johnson's oral history interviews conducted with East Texans. Supported by an Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Grant, Curtis organized and duplicated Dr. Johnson's approximately two hundred oral histories and developed seven lesson plans.
Charlie Wilson OH Project March 25, 2011
All photographs by Dr. Perky Beisel
African American Museum Award, April 2010
Presentations
NCPH Meeting - Pensacola, FL
-
April 2011 On Wednesday the 6th of April four History MA students (Kaitlin Wieseman, Carolyn Whitsitt, Carolyn White, and Misty Hurley) and one History BA student (Cassandra Bennett who began the Public History MA program at Middle Tennessee State University in Fall 2011) joined Drs. Perky Beisel, Paul Sandul, and Scott Sosebee along with Mr. Herman Wright (LongBlackLine.org) on a twelve-hour road trip from Nacogdoches, TX to Pensacola, FL. Thanks to the generous support of the East Texas Historical Association, the History Department, and Student Affairs, we were able to make this an affordable and extremely educational trip. We all had fun at the conference, met great people, listened to stimulating sessions, toured the posters and the town (including a dip in the Gulf of Mexico), and presented our papers. Carolyn Whitsitt and Kaitlin Wiseman presented papers concerning their thesis research and Cassandra Bennett presented a poster.
-
East Texas Historical Association (fall 2010) - Stephen DeLear, Laura Blackburn, Jessy Hanshaw, Matt Tallant, Aaron Marsh, and Lisa Bentley presented their oral interviews conducted on the behalf of the African American Heritage Project.
- East Texas Historical Association (fall 2009) - Chris Elzen, Lisa Bentley, Pam Ringle, Cassie Bennett, Joyce Preston, and Brenna Kelly presented papers at the fall meeting of the East Texas Historical Association in Nacogdoches.
- East Texas Historical Association (fall 2008) - Sara Baker, Jennifer Brancato, and Chris Elzen presented papers at the fall meeting of the East Texas Historical Association in Nacogdoches.
- East Texas Historical Association (fall 2007) - Paul Maleski, Angela Henderson, and Curtis Odom presented papers at the fall meeting of the East Texas Historical Association in Nacogdoches.
Presentation PowerPoint
National Council on Public History Annual Meeting, April 6-9, 2011 in Pensacola, FL
One van, three professors, one community leader, five students, two destinations = a great conference! For more pictures (especially architecture and gravestones) see the NCPH trip set on Dr. Beisel's Flickr page.
Presentations at the East Texas Historical Association Fall Meeting
For more information on the Fall 2009 project, see the "Cultural Resources Management" section toward the top of this page.
Heritage Tourism
- On June 26th, the public history program supported the Long Black Line Conference at SFASU. This symposium focused on the African-American School Movement of 1920-1950 and featured several speakers and a round table discussion. Admission to the sessions was be free, but there will a ticketed catered lunch. The East Texas Historical Association coordinated the logistics. The speakers included independent researchers and university professors.
- On the behalf of Historic Nacogdoches Inc., at the beginning of the spring 2010 semester, the History Department's Graduate Assistants researched and designed poster displays for the four proposed bronze statues to be added to the downtown Heritage Walk in Nacogdoches. The 2'x3' George Crocket, Karle Wilson Baker, Country Doctor, and Diedrich Rulfs posters, assembled by G.A. Stephen Delear, were printed by the Columbia Geospatial Center and presented at the FoHNI gala on February 11, 2010.
