Come and see it
A blue-ribbon historical preservation panel would be a tribute to the late Mark White.
An editorial on this page earlier this week mentioned a visit that a bandaged Mark White made to the editorial board in 2015. The former Texas governor had just had minor surgery to remove skin cancer on his ear and nose. When he arrived, he apologized that he might be a little woozy from pain medication.
What was so pressing that White chose to attend a meeting rather than spend the morning recuperating? White was concerned about our state’s benign neglect of its most iconic sites, not only the San Jacinto battleground, but Gonzales, Goliad and Washington-on-the-Brazos.
Although the Texas General Land Office is currently in the process of working with the private sector to develop a longterm strategic plan for the Alamo, these other historic sites are worthy of maintenance, repair and reimagining, too.
Remember while the Texians lost the Battle of the Alamo, they won the battle of San Jacinto. The Battle of the Alamo lasted only 13 days, while the Declaration of Independence written and signed at Washington-on-the-Brazos is the bedrock of our statehood today.
These historic places need additional resources to more profoundly convey the momentous events that happened there. Finally, although the Texas Historical Commission has generated Texas Independence Trail maps and educational materials, more could be done to weave the sites together into one cohesive experience.
Tragically, White, 77, died of a heart attack on Saturday before seeing his vision realized. But Gov. Greg Abbott should honor White’s memory by creating the Mark White Legacy Committee. The governor could gather knowledgeable and influential history lovers around the state and direct them to come up with a plan to give all our state’s major historic sites the attention that White advocated for and that they deserve.
The committee’s first step would be to cut through bureaucratic red tape and determine which agency should have primary responsibility for maintenance and development of all the major sites on the Texas Independence Trail. Now, the Texas Parks and Wildlife and the historical commission sometimes have oversight of different aspects of the same site.
Our state’s history is incomparable, and the only way to understand its war for independence is to see it for yourself. Visitors need to stand where Col. James Fannin surrendered, along with some 300 of his men. They need to go see the original “Come and Take It” cannon on display at the Gonzales Memorial Museum along with a replica of the famous flag. They need to take a close look at the sabers, swords, bayonets and other weapons used by both sides in the Battle of San Jacinto housed now at its museum, commemorating the spot where the Texas militia under Sam Houston thoroughly routed the Mexican forces.
White was also right in the middle of the creation of a museum at the San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site, the headquarters of Stephen F. Austin’s colony, and of an effort to save another treasured state icon: the USS Texas.
Heritage tourism not only helps pass on the Texas values of respect for freedom and democracy to the next generation, preservation brings jobs to communities. According to Preservation Texas, arts and culture tourists stay longer, bring more people and spend more than the average tourist.
“I don’t know what the budget would look like — but we need to do it right,” White told us two years ago. Abbott can make a right start by appointing a blueribbon committee bearing White’s name, and charging it with the task of making our past more accessible and alluring to young and old visitors.