Preserving and expanding access to historical collections on early governance of texas and the american southwest [the aim of this proposal is to preserve and expand access to historical collections…

The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded Our Lady of the Lake University of San Antonio $350,000 on January 1, 2027, under the Promotion of the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access program (CFDA 45.149) to preserve and expand access to historical collections documenting early governance of Texas and the American Southwest.

The project will appoint a project archivist, consolidate administrative, legal, and ecclesiastical records created by Spanish and Mexican civil and church authorities into improved storage, and publish digitized materials through JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services. These handwritten documents, which shaped settlement, landholding, diplomacy, and community life before Texas statehood, will be made widely discoverable to deepen public understanding of how laws, leadership, and community obligations were organized in the region.

Performance runs through December 31, 2028, with all work performed in Texas.

Preserving and expanding access to historical collections on early governance of texas and the american southwest [the aim of this proposal is to preserve and expand access to historical collections that illuminate the early governance of texas and the american southwest. Collection materials include administrative, legal, and ecclesiastical records created by spanish and mexican civil and church authorities. Together these institutions shaped settlement, landholding, diplomacy, and community life long before statehood. By appointing a project archivist, consolidating materials in improved storage, and publishing them through jstor digital stewardship services, the project will transform access to handwritten documents rarely seen outside the archives. Making these sources widely discoverable will deepen public understanding of how laws, leadership, and community obligations were organized in this region, tracing the evolution from mission governance and frontier administration to the foundations of the american nation.]