WINNSBORO NAMED AS NATIONAL MAIN STREET CITY

The Texas Historical Commission (THC) and the National Trust for Historic Preservation recently recognized Winnsboro as one of the 59 National Main Street Cities in Texas. Other 2008 National Main Street Cities include: Amarillo, Beaumont, Beeville , Bowie, Bridgeport, Canton, Canyon, Carthage, Celina, Clifton, Colorado City, Comanche, Corsicana, Cotulla, Denison, Denton, Electra, Elgin, Fairfield, Farmersville, Freeport, Georgetown, Goliad, Gonzales, Grand Saline, Greenville, Harlingen, Henderson, Hillsboro, Huntsville, Kerrville, Kilgore, La Grange, La Porte, Levelland, Livingston, Llano, Lufkin, Luling, Marshall, McKinney, Mineola, Mount Vernon, Nacogdoches, New Braunfels, Odessa, Paris, Pharr, Plainview, Rio Grande City, San Angelo, San Marcos, Seguin, Sonora, Spur, Taylor, Tyler, and Waxahachie.

“A lot of hard work goes into achieving this recognition, which honors the many people, including Main Street managers and volunteers, who put in countless hours to make their Main Street programs work. The result is an active and successful downtown revitalization effort that benefits not only the Main Street district, but also the entire community,” said Debra Farst , state coordinator of the Texas Main Street Program.

The cities were honored at the recent Texas Downtown Association/Texas Main Street Conference in Fort Worth . The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center will honor these cities at the 2008 National Main Streets Conference to be held in Philadelphia in March.

Cities chosen as National Main Street Cities must show above average performance in 10 categories. The selection criteria focus on planning, staff and volunteers, preservation ethic, training and program assessment. For additional information, visit the National Main Street web site at www.mainstreet.org and the National Trust for Historic Preservation web site at www.nationaltrust.org.

For more information about the THC’s Main Street Program visit www.thc.state.tx.us.

The THC’s Texas Main Street Program is a revitalization program for historic downtown and neighborhood commercial districts. It is based on a four-point approach — organization, design, promotion and economic restructuring, all within the context of historic preservation. Implemented in 1981, the program has assisted more than 140 communities throughout the state. For more information, contact Debra Farst at 512/463-5758.

The Texas Historical Commission is the state agency for historic preservation. The agency administers a variety of programs to preserve the archeological, historical and cultural resources of Texas . www.thc.state.tx.us