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Historic
Waco Foundation is a non-profit
organization 501 (c)(3). The
mission of Historic Waco
Foundation is to collect,
maintain, preserve, publish
and interpret the heritage
and history of Waco, McLennan
County and Texas. The
Foundation was formed in
1967 through the merger and
incorporation of three common
interest groups: The Heritage
Society (East Terrace), the
Society of Historic Preservation
(Fort House), and the Duncan
Foundation (Earle-Napier-Kinnard
House). HWF ownes and operates a fourth
historic house museum, the
McCulloch House. These museums
date from 1858 to 1884.
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Historic Waco Foundation
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Historic Waco Foundation is a volunteer organization dedicated to historic preservation in the city. The Foundation was formed in 1967 through the merger and incorporation of three common interest groups: the Heritage Society, the Society for Historic Preservation, and the Duncan Foundation. One of the founders of the combined organization included the noted Waco historian, Roger Conger. The primary function of Historic Waco Foundation is the sponsorship and maintenance of four house museums in the city. The Fort House, built in 1868 by William Aldridge Fort at 503 South Forth Street, was purchased by the Junior League of Waco in 1956. Gifts of $1000 each from seven Waco businessmen restored the first floor, funds from the Cooper Foundation permitted upstairs restoration, and Ida Morris funded a second dining room interpretation. In 1957 Frances Higginbotham Nalle of Austin purchased, restored, furnished and endowed the Earle-Napier-Kinnard House of 814 South Fourth. She then gave the house probably begun in 1858 by John Bayliss Earle and enlarged by John S. Napier, to the Waco Perpetual Growth Fund. John Wesley Mann built East Terrance at 100 Mill Street in 1872, and the house was given to the Heritage Society in 1960 by F.M., R.T. and B.W. Young. Gifts from the Cooper Foundation, Eleanor Jurney Pape, Lucille Massey, and the others enabled restoration of the house by 1966. These homes became the property of Historic Waco Foundation when the previous common interest groups merged into Historic Waco Foundaiton. The Foundation's most recently acquired house museum is the Champe Carter McCulloch House at 407 Columbus. Built in two stages, in 1866 by Josiah and Maria Caldwell built a one-story two-room birck house as well as a detached kitchen. In 1871 C.C. McCulloch purchased the property and added the two-story section. The house was given to HWF by the McCulloch heirs in the late 1970s. Restoration of the Greek Revival structure was completed in 1980.
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Accreditation
Recently,
HWF received accreditation
by the American Association
of Museums. AAM Accreditaion
signifies excellence within
the museum community. It
is a seal of approval and
strengthens individual
museums and the entire
field by promoting ethical
and professional practices.
Being accreditated enables
museum leaders to make
informed decisions, allocate
and use resources wisely,
and maintain the strictest
accountability to the public
they serve. Of the nation's
nearly 16,000 museums, approximately
750 are currently accredited.
It is a rigourous but highly
rewarding process that
examines all aspects of
a museum's operations.
Historic Waco Foundation
is one of only 40 museums
accredited in Texas and
one of only 2 in Waco. |
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