"History like that of Texas is rare. . . . Is it not discreditable to the 
people of Texas, that they should leave the collection of material 
for the history of the State to the great endowed Northern libraries?
 . . . Let Texas arouse herself for very shame, and begin at once 
the discharge of her filial duty."


So wrote George Pierce Garrison in the first issue of the Quarterly 
of the Texas State Historical Association, published in July 1897, 
just months after the establishment of the organization. Earlier 
attempts to organize historical societies in Texas, traced in the 
opening chapter, illuminate the factors that came ultimately to be 
decisive in the success of the Association: the wisdom in linking 
the organization with the University of Texas, the inclusion of lay 
historians, and the continued insistence on high academic 
standards. And, from the beginning, the Association has 
established a tradition for publishing in the Quarterly, in addition to 
the Anglo story, the stories of the Indians, the Spanish, and the 
French.

    The text is organized in chronological chapters by the tenures of 
the seven directors, George Garrison to Ron Tyler. Within the larger 
framework of the directors, the programs, and the publications, 
Richard McCaslin gives shape to the unique interaction of forces—
university, political, and the academic/lay membership—that has 
ccorded the Association a character and suppleness that continues 
to ensure its long endurance.


For those who have long been members of the Association, there is 
nostalgic delight in hearing again those long-ago voices of Eugene 
Barker, Walter Webb, Bailey Carroll, Joe Frantz, and Tuffly Ellis 
and new appreciation for how much thought, energy, and commitment 
have gone into the guidance and stability of this organization.


_________________________________________________________

RICHARD B. McCASLIN, fellow of the TSHA, is a professor of 
history at the University of North Texas. J. P. BRYAN was president 
of the Association for the year 1982–1983; his father, J. P. Bryan, Sr., 
was president from 1965–1967. Bryan's roots also run deep in the 
history of the state, going back to Emily Austin Bryan Perry, sister of 
Stephen F. Austin.


Publication of this book is supported by a grant from the Summerlee 
Foundation, Dallas