District, county clerks restore records
Photo by Britne Hammons
Nikki Cole looks through a book at the newly renovated Van Zandt County Library Sept. 15.
Housed in the vaults of Van Zandt County lie numerous record books containing meeting minutes from the 1800s. The records are meticulously handwritten and full of valuable history of Van Zandt County, but are deteriorating fast, according to District Clerk Karen Wilson.
Wilson came to the commissioners court meeting Sept. 13 asking for approval for a written plan for funding the preservation and restoration of clerk’s record archive. Wilson said that the plan would continue to allow an archive fee to be charged in all civil cases and motions that were prescribed by law.
“The fee is $10, and it is essential for archiving and restoring all the records. The fee was originally established in 2009. My plan is to continue to restore old record books from the 1800s. The records contain handwritten meeting minutes from court,” said Wilson.
Wilson pointed out to the court that the records were deteriorating and that some of the record books had pages falling out.
“Obviously, since these records are so old there are some problems. There are some books where the pages are falling out and even some with the pages taped together. It is crucial that we maintain these books for future generations.”
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