Preservation Boot Camp | Texas Historical Commission

Welcome to Preservation Boot Camp!

Preservation starts with you! At the Texas Historical Commission, we know how important the people working to preserve history in their communities are. Many people doing preservation work at the local level have a passion for their community’s history but do not have an academic background in preservation. Preservation Boot Camp was designed to equip those preserving your communities’ Main Streets, buildings, and neighborhoods with the necessary tools. This educational resource will lead you on a deep dive through the essentials of historic preservation. Our goal is for you to feel empowered as a voice for preservation in your community.

Who is Boot Camp for?
If you want to know more about the nuts and bolts of historic preservation, Boot Camp is for you! This includes:
- Local historic preservation commissioners or members of review boards
- Main Street staff and volunteers
- Those working in a local government job that involves historic building – staff, elected officials, historic preservation officers, planners and community development
- Certified Local Governments (CLGs) and other municipalities with a preservation program
- County Historical Commission members
- Volunteer preservationists – neighborhood advocates, history buffs, or those looking to learn more about how to identify and protect important places.
Some historic preservation jobs require meeting the Secretary of the Interior's Professional Qualification Standards. While these modules would not quality you to meet those Standards, Boot Camp gives you a solid introductory understanding of preservation.
How to Use this Training
Preservation Boot Camp is a self-paced educational tool. Each module covers an important preservation-related topic and describes why the material is relevant to your work. You can advance through Boot Camp at a rate that suits you. It takes around six hours to complete Preservation Boot Camp from start to finish. However, if you pick up a concept quickly – or find it’s not relevant to your needs – you can skip ahead and advance more quickly.
When you finish the course, we encourage you to take the Boot Camp survey and provide us with your feedback. You can also request a certificate of completion!
How would you define historic preservation?
"Historic preservation" is a very broad term for different ways of treating older places that people care about. Historic preservation involves the act of recognizing places from our past that are important to us, caring for those places by utilizing the most appropriate treatments and policies, and then continuing to use them in ways that enrich our lives.
Historic places are IMPORTANT for many reasons. They give our communities, the look, feel, and identity that's unique and meaningful. They tell our community's story. They help us understand who we are and where we came from, and guide how we move forward. They connect us to our past and each other.
Preservation can mean many things to different people. It can be about the important stories that spark emotions about your community and then working to document them. It can also be about the physical places or items such as buildings and clothes, or sites such as Native American lands. Or it can be about material conservation such as siding repair or cultural heritage initiatives like oral history projects.
Resources:
Please watch the What is Historic Preservation Presentation (Video) to learn more about historic preservation and its history in the United States.
Why This is Important:
Understanding the basics and history of preservation is important because a framework is needed in order to implement an effective preservation program and to educate others on its importance.
Our state’s historic places reflect the many forces that shaped Texas – the cultures of our people, landscapes and climatic conditions, religious traditions, natural resources available, and technologic advances over time. This module will teach you about the history and styles of our state’s built environment.
Resources:
The architectural history of Texas spans more than10,000 years of habitation by native peoples and 300 years of European settlement, as described in the book Buildings of Texas. Our built environment reflects the contributions of numerous cultures, including Native American, Spanish, Mexican, Anglo, African American, German, Czech, Polish, and Italian. Our varied buildings include Spanish missions, log cabins, German stone houses, Victorian courthouses, Moderne stores, contemporary ranch houses, modern skyscrapers, postmodern retail strips, and incursions by internationally renowned architects. The Texas State Historical Association’s digital encyclopedia, Handbook of Texas: Architecture, breaks our state’s architecture into distinct time periods and outlines the historic influences, styles, and materials of each era.
Watch these THC presentations for specific examples of historic building styles and their character-defining features:
- Residential Architectural Details - THC Presentation (Video, 13 minutes)
- Residential Architectural Styles in Texas - THC Presentation (Video, 15 minutes)
- Commercial Architectural Styles in Texas - THC Presentation (Video, 8 minutes)
- Modern Architecture in Texas - THC Presentation (Video, 12 minutes)
Why This is Important:
Putting a name to a building’s architectural style and identifying its character-defining features can help you pin down its era of construction, put that building in context, and communicate its historic significance to others. This is especially important for historic preservation officers and landmark commissioners, who are often tasked with evaluating whether a building should be protected as a designated landmark or assessing which architectural elements should be preserved during a rehabilitation project. Plus, identifying architectural styles is fun! Architecture is a tool by which you can better understand your community, its history, and its people.
Bonus Activity: Take a few minutes to explore the architectural history and building styles in your community. Think about the different types of buildings and structures. Were they designed in an architectural style or are they vernacular? What natural resources, industries, and cultural influences in your region fostered this type of construction?
When it comes to preserving historic properties, it is important to first identify and document them. Identification of historic resources begins with historic research which will include visits to archives, libraries, and to the historic site itself to study it. Once research has been conducted and the resource is determined to be historic, documentation can begin. Most often documentation happens through inventories and historic resource surveys.
Resources:
This Identification and Documentation Brief gives you some ideas on how to conduct research on a resource as well as information about historic resources surveys and oral histories.
Why This is Important:
If you do not know what you have, how can you save it? Understanding your options for your community’s resources and how to research them will help you plan for projects in the future and help support designation for those resources.
Historic places can be officially recognized (or designated) in different ways. Designation is a formal process to attach recognition and/or protection to a resource. Designations can be at the federal, state, or local level. (In general, a historic place can have federal, state, and local designations.) These types of designations have different benefits and responsibilities; this module will help you understand the differences, their benefits, and the application processes.
Resources:
- Designation Overview (Handout)
- THC Presentation on Demystifying Designation (Video)
- THC Presentation on Local Designation (Video)
Why This is Important:
Historic designations play a key role in ensuring the protection and preservation of significant resources. It is important that preservationists are aware of the different types of designation available, whether they afford protections to historic properties, if they qualify a property for financial incentives, and what restrictions they may place on a property (if any).
Preservation starts at the local level, often when community members come together to project a historic place they care about. By local, we mean the most local form of jurisdiction – typically a city, town, rural community, or other municipality. Once a historic place has been identified by the community as worthy of recognition, they may turn to their local government for ways to protect them. In this module, we hope to give you an understanding of all the parts of a local preservation program such as ordinances (the local statutes enacted by cities to protect historic places), the roles and responsibilities of individuals within the local government (the historic preservation officer and the preservation commission, and how local protections work.
Resources:
- Local Preservation (Handout)
- Our Building a Strong Preservation Program Webinar Series offers more information on the preservation ordinance and design review.
- THC Presentation on Role of HPO (Video)
- THC Presentation on Role of City and County Historic Preservation Commissions (Video)
- THC Presentation on Local Designation (Video)
Why This is Important:
Historic preservation is most effective when it is fostered at the local level. Effective local preservation programs are developed through community input and consensus. And local ordinances establish a community-developed, public process for evaluating and protecting historic resources. It is important to understand all aspects of a local program and how to implement them to enhance preservation in your community.
This section gives you an introduction to the federal laws that created the foundation for modern preservation. Part of this is understanding what properties can be protected. Not only can buildings such as homes, churches, and courthouses be protected, but other resources such as barns, districts, objects, and sites can be as well. The video presentation below introduces the National Historic Preservation Act, the National Register of Historic Places, Section 106 review, and the National Environmental Policy Act. The link leads you to a list of federal, state, and local laws that give preservation authority at all levels.
Resources:
- THC Presentation on Preservation Laws (Video)
- Statutes, Regulations, and Rules (Webpage)
Why This is Important:
These laws are important for you to know and understand because preservation is often challenged on a legal basis. Documents like preservation ordinances or the authority of a preservation commission are legal and can be defended by pointing to the appropriate statutes. Learning the larger legal framework of preservation will also give understanding to the roles and responsibilities of HPOs and community members.
One of the most challenging aspects of preservation can be finding funding for projects. Financial resources can be difficult to find and application may sometimes be confusing to complete. To help make the search for funding easier, the THC has compiled resources with a variety of options.
Resources:
Why This is Important:
It is important to understand different incentives offered with historic designation to gain support for protection efforts. Inevitably, those who work in preservation will get the question that starts with “So I have this old house…” Understanding the tools and resources at your disposal will hopefully ensure a good outcome for the owner and the community.
The physical act of preserving old building and objects (know as "brick and mortar" work) is a common issue facing building owners, preservation commissions, historic preservation officers, and anyone working with old buildings. Most people are aware that the techniques to preserve older materials differ than for modern materials, but finding appropriate guidance can be difficult. To help with this we have compiled the information below.
Resources:
- Interpreting the Standards bulletins are used by preservationists on a daily basis. They are extensive, but provide reference points such as:
  - Old growth wood like most siding, is denser, and therefore more rot and termite resistant.
  - Original wood windows, also usually made out of old-growth wood, were made to be taken apart and repaired and do not cause most old building’s heat and air conditioning loss.
  - Masonry should rarely be painted or sand blasted as a means of ‘cleaning.’ The surface will be destroyed and water will seep in causing the stone to deteriorate.
- Excel Spreadsheet on Built Environment Resources
- Anatomy of a Double-Hung Window Graphic Handout
- Anatomy of a Main Street Building Handout
Why This is Important:
Having a basic understanding of the technology of historic buildings is a great tool for preservationists. It will allow you to educate building owners on the best way to preserve materials, make better decisions about design review options using the Standards, and provide better insight to your community’s building stock.
The most effective historic preservation efforts involve positive working relationships between elected officials, departments of local government, property owners, and preservation advocates. Preservation works best when the community feels engaged with protecting the older and historic places they care about. Below you will find resources on how to engage your community in preservation issues.
Resources:
Why This is Important:
In order to get the community to see and benefit from all of your efforts, it is important to find ways to engage with them. This can be done through community outreach events, educational opportunities, and sometimes even advocacy. This will make sure that preservation has a ‘seat at the table’ when decisions for a community are being made.
Heritage Tourism is traveling to experience the places and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past. As an HPO or Main Street Manager, this is an excellent tool to ensure that preservation is supported and embraced by leadership and the community.
Resources:
Why This is Important:
According to our Heritage Tourism team, “Learning about America’s heritage and exploring distinct, authentic communities continues to be a strong motivator for domestic and international travelers. Research continues to show that more people are seeking travel experiences that connect them to local culture and unique stories. Heritage tourism in Texas is a $7.3 billion dollar industry and accounts for more than 10.5 percent of all travel in the state.” Understanding that preservation weaves in economically to your community is a very good tool to have when it comes to making decisions about the goals of your community.
As you have learned throughout this course, there are many reasons why preservation is important. One of the best tools you can have to help you educate others about preservation is knowledge on why preservation matters. Below are some resources to help you have a more thorough understanding so you can share with others the positive impact of preservation.
Resources:
Why This is Important:
As a member of the preservation community, this question of ‘why should we care’ will always be asked. It is important to understand that preservation is not just one aspect of a community, it is tied into the identity of a place. There will be different types of people who ask questions from different angles, and it is important to be able to address all of them whether it is the financial benefits of preservation, or community-focused and character-based benefits.
As we hope you have learned, historic preservation is so much more than preserving physical resources. Many people are fascinated with the historic environment around them, but have difficulty accessing stories that do not have a building attached to them. Therefore, sometimes you have to get creative about how to tell those stories.
Examples include theme studies, digital maps, oral histories, or including cultural resource language in designation criteria and establishing cultural heritage areas. The handout below has some more information on non-built resources.
Resources:
- Beyond the Building Handout
Why This is Important:
While we have focused heavily on the built environment, as a historic preservation officer or community leader, it is important to have a holistic view of preservation. This will ensure an intersectional and creative preservation program that is more accessible to your community.
It is critical to think about preservation across various platforms and contexts. History spans across many cultural lines so the stories that are told should be accessible to all. This can look like honoring indigenous lands and history in a survey study, or updating a National Register nomination of a property to include the experience of people of color.
We at the THC hope to continue this work to help community leaders make sure all histories are seen and accessible.
Resources: