Founded as a private, nonprofit educational organization on March 2, 1897--the 61st anniversary of the Texas Declaration of Independence--the Texas State Historical Association has long been regarded as the nation's most dynamic regional history organization. Reinforced by more than one hundred years of scholarship and educational programs, its mission is to further the appreciation, understanding, and teaching of the rich and unique history of Texas through research, writing, and publication of related historical material.

Publications include the venerated "Southwestern Historical Quarterly," the "Texas Almanac," and numerous award-winning books with both scholarly and wide-audience appeal. The "Handbook of Texas Online," an encyclopedia of articles about Texas is researched by scholars, but written on an eighth-grade level. It receives more than one million "hits" per month from users world-wide.

Long recognized for its scholarship, the TSHA announces three Fellows of the Association annually. Annual Fellowships and a large number of awards are bestowed each year to Texas history scholars and to honor those who promote the learning and teaching of Texas history.

The TSHA supports a variety of programs. The annual meeting provides opportunities for adult history enthusiasts to attend three days of juried scholarly sessions about many aspects of Texas history. The education division hosts Junior Historians for grades 3-12 and the Webb Society for college-age learners. Its Texas History Day history fair is the state level of the National History Day contest. « less