Gabriel Ozuna likens local preservation and historical committees to the planning and zoning boards found in many cities. 

The members of both types of commissions are usually appointed by local City Commissions. Each board sets forth rules and guidelines on development. The goal is to ensure orderly growth and development in the local community.

The P&Z boards have long been essential components of local governments, but the same cannot be said of the preservation and historical boards, said Ozuna, the chairman of the Hidalgo County Historical Commission. Preserving historical buildings and districts in communities can lead to economic development in its own ways by providing tax credits for builders who restore decades-old buildings, he said.

“The goal in a city should be let’s do the planning and surveys that are necessary so property owners can take advantage of the tax credits that are available,” said Ozuna, who is also a historic preservation officer for the county.  “There are cities like Brownsville leading the way, and then there are cities in the (Rio Grande) Valley that have neglected historical preservation and are not doing much at all.”

‘A Historical Age’

Terri Myers is a historian who helps cities in Texas with surveys and studies focused on historical preservation.

The Austin-based consultant has worked closely with city governments in Mission and McAllen and more recently in Mercedes. Myers coordinates her efforts and expertise with local city departments and boards in formally listing historical buildings and districts in communities. She guides cities toward laying out priorities and taking the steps needed to gain state and federal designations for local historical structures.

“Doing a comprehensive survey gives us the basis and rationale to develop comprehensive plans and surveys,” said Myers, the principal/historian for Historic Preservation Consulting. 

In the Valley, Myers sees cities that sprang along newly laid railroad lines established in the early 1900s. Cities like Weslaco and Mercedes are among the area cities that developed from the efforts of land companies who arrived in South Texas over a hundred years ago to sell land to Midwesterners for farming and to lay down townships.

Brownsville, Rio Grande City and Roma were exceptions to those efforts in their origins dating back to the mid-1800s with the military presence of Fort Brown and Fort Ringgold, respectively. However Valley cities got started, there is plenty of history to be found in the region. It’s a matter of organizing and developing a formal inventory of buildings of “a historical age,” Myers says, which is defined as being from 1976 to all the years preceding it.

“Each city has its own identity,” Ozuna said. “We want to see the authenticity of each community and the things that are unique to each community.”

Certifying Historical Structures

Highlighting that uniqueness can be done by securing national and state designations for local historical structures.

Having such designations is vital to attracting private sector investors to purchase and renovate historic buildings and make use of historical tax credits. Certified historic structures can utilize federal tax credits of 20 percent or more in encouraging property owners to make improvements to such buildings. 

Getting there is a process and best done with the support of local historic and preservation boards. Ozuna lauded Brownsville for doing much of this work over the last 10 years in undergoing surveys and studies which have developed official plans and policies regarding historic buildings in downtown Brownsville. This has led to private sector investments in renovating several historic buildings in the city. 

Ozuna says the cities of Donna, Harlingen and Mercedes have likewise taken steps to develop local historical and preservation boards and seeking the expertise of consultants like Myers. The city of Hidalgo, he said, is redoubling its efforts to preserve and improve its courthouse square that dates to the 1880s in marking the beginnings of Hidalgo County. 

“There’s a lot of opportunities in these towns and cities that are buying into preservation efforts,” Ozuna said. “Eco-tourism and going to visit historic towns and sites are things many people enjoy. Brownsville is doing great work and it’s good to see other cities reevaluating their historical buildings and districts.”