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Would you like to survey downtown Austin with an actual survey team, learn tips for genealogical research, visit the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, see the original signatures of Stephen F. Austin and other Texas heroes at the Texas General Land Office Archives, make handcrafted paper, and print your own maps on an antique iron hand printing press?

Mark your calendars for the inaugural Save Texas History Symposium in Austin on Saturday, November 6, 2010. The topic of the symposium, which will be hosted by Commissioner Jerry Patterson and the Texas General Land Office, will be "Discovering Spanish and Mexican Texas." Humanities Texas is pleased to provide this program with grant support.

In addition, three distinguished speakers will share their historical expertise. State Historian Dr. Light Cummins will speak on "The Coming of the Anglos and the Empresario System in Texas." Dr. Felix Almaráz, professor of history at The University of Texas at San Antonio, will discuss "The Legacy of Spanish and Mexican Texas and the Overlapping Societies." Dr. Jesús F. de la Teja, professor of history at Texas State University, San Marcos and former State Historian, will educate attendees on "The Settlement of Spanish and Mexican Texas."

The Texas General Land Office Archives was created after the Texas Revolution when Sam Houston directed the first land commissioner, John P. Borden, to collect all available land records defining the new Republic. These valuable documents, now housed in temperature- and access-controlled vaults, are used daily by genealogists, historians, archeologists, surveyors, and anyone interested in Texas history. For more information about the Texas General Land Office Archives click here. For more information about what you can do to help save Texas history, click here.

The Texas General Land Office Save Texas History™ program is a statewide initiative to rally public support and private funding for the preservation and promotion of these historic maps and documents. With the twin goals of preservation and education, the Save Texas History program seeks to conserve these documents for future generations, and educate Texans about the rich heritage found in these vital records.

The symposium will be held at 1700 North Congress Avenue in Austin from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Save Texas History Symposium is only $25 per person. To register, call 1-800-998-4GLO or email: archives@glo.state.tx.us.