The MCHC met November 6, 2021 at the Sanford Community Center in Palacios.
Troy Lewis hosted the meeting, explaining the history of the Center and giving a tour.
The Center was erected as a school in 1939 for the African American children of Palacios.
Professor Granville Sanford and his wife, Mrs. Carita Foley Sanford taught at the school for many years.
They were dedicated to the education of the African-American children.
The school was the center of life in the African American Community.
It closed in May 1963 when integration was instituted in Texas.
The building was later used for the Rainbow Land Day Care.
Hundreds of young Palacios children passed through its doors during the almost 50 years the day care operated there before the new facility opened in 2012.
Numerous meetings and events have been hosted at the Center since the renovation of the original school building.
Cemetery chairman, Faye Cunningham, reported on the work being done to update the online records for the African American cemeteries in Matagorda County.
Also associated with that project is the scanning of funeral programs for the African American records.
The MCHC is an arm of the Matagorda County government and its purpose is to assist the Matagorda County commissioners and the Texas Historical Commission in the preservation of the historic and cultural resources of Texas.
The MCHC meets six times a year at historic sites in the county.
The appointees serve two-year terms.
The historical markers located across the county were erected through the efforts of the MCHC and number approximately 125.
Several new markers will be erected during the next year.
To read more about the Sanford Community Center, visit
http://usgenwebsites.org/TXMatagorda/palacios/pa_aa_school_preservation.htm
Additional information about the Matagorda County Historical Commission information is located at http://usgenwebsites.org/TXMatagorda/mchc/mchc.htm.
The MCHC TXGenWeb site can be found at http://usgenwebsites.org/TXMatagorda/
