AUSTIN — Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush is proud to announce the kick-off of the 2019 Save Texas History Essay Contest for 4th and 7th grade students.  The Save Texas History Essay Contest encourages students to answer an important question: "What history in your community is worth saving?"

"Our local communities reflect deep history whether we realize it or not," said Commissioner Bush. "We always appreciate monumental historic sites but tend to forget the history right at our front doors. I'm excited for our young Texans to dig deeper into the history of where they call home and I'm looking forward to reading about it."

Last year's student essays reflected the rich diversity of community history in Texas. The fourth grade grand prize winner, Laila Prest from Menard, wrote of the importance of Menard, Texas: 'Honoring the Past and Looking to the Future' and discussed the importance of saving the overall history and culture of her community.The seventh grade grand prize winner, Cooper Caswell from Ira, wrote about the Heritage Village of Scurry County and discussed how “the village shows the rich history of development in our area through farming, ranching, transportation, oil field, and wind mills.” 

The winning 4th and 7th grade entries will each receive a cash award of $500 courtesy of Chris Cantu of Edward Jones Investments and Bob Eskridge of Just in Time Staffing, both of Round Rock, Texas. Five finalists in each grade level will receive a $100 gift card courtesy of the Downtown Rotary Club of Austin and the Moses Austin Chapter of the Sons of the Republic of Texas.  All winners and finalists will also receive Texas flags that have flown over the Texas State Capitol, courtesy of the Moses Austin chapter of the Sons of the Republic of Texas, Save Texas History backpacks, a replica of an historic map from the GLO Archives map collection, and a Certificate of Achievement signed by Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

Entries must be postmarked by December 6, 2019. The entry form can be found online by clicking here.

4th & 7th Grade Students in public, private, and homeschool

Save Texas History Essay Contest. Answer the question, "What history in your community is worth saving?"

Contest Starts September 16. Entries must be postmarked by December 6, 2019. Winners will be announced December 13, 2019.

Submit entries:
By Mail: Texas General Land Office, Attn: Buck Cole/STH Essay Contest, P.O. Box 12873, Austin, TX, 78711-2873
Electronically: (PDF format only) essaycontest@glo.texas.gov
In person: 1700 North Congress Avenue, Austin, TX, 78701

Go to www.savetexashistory.org for details.

About the Texas General Land Office's Save Texas History program
Created in 2004, the Save Texas History program is a statewide initiative to rally public support and private funding for the preservation and promotion of the historic maps and documents housed in the GLO Archives, and serves as a resource for teaching and digitizing Texas history. If you would like to donate to the Save Texas History program to adopt a document or collection, assist with archival acquisitions, develop educational programs, or support digital projects, please visit SaveTexasHistory.org. Follow Save Texas History on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.