Preserving the Past, One Pleading at a Time

By CHARLES BACARISSE

Ever go poking around in your grandparents’ attic? How about the attic of your great-great-great-great grandparents?
Imagine looking at things that have been boxed up for more than 150 years. Some boxes and envelopes held just everyday stuff, put there to get it out of the way. A few treasured things were carefully hidden in the attic.
Today, the Harris County Records Center – our “attic,” if you will – is high, dry and acclimatized and as secure as a jail. Which is what the building at 1301 Franklin used to be.
Not long after I became Harris County District Clerk ten years ago, Judge Mark Davidson alerted me to the rapid deterioration of some records among our huge trove dating back to 1836. Unlike so many counties, ours has never had a big fire or disastrous flood that wiped out lots of old records. However, the insidious effects of heat, humidity, acidic paper, acidic ink and other factors are quietly destroying our history.
Thanks to Harris County’s awakening interest in preserving old records – a statutory and a moral obligation – the old records not only are stored in a better, more secure place but also are being preserved in a fashion that should keep them readable for 300 years.
This is truly a labor of love for me. My father was a history professor at the University of Houston so I think it’s in my genes.  We are continuing to make progress each day with the preservation effort. I’m so thankful for the many responses we’ve had and the interest this project has generated.
Grants from a few foundations and donations to the Houston Bar Foundation approached $95,000 on January 6. The items restored as of January 6 include 21 minute books, six indexes and 3,866 files. The goal for this phase is more than $800,000. You can help by sending a tax-deductible check to:

Houston Bar Foundation
Records Preservation
P.O. Box 3552
Houston, TX 77253

This is a fine way to honor a partner or a colleague or give a gift to someone who “has everything.”
With enough help, we can save “everything.”

Charles Bacarisse is the Harris County District Clerk

< BACK TO TOP >