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I've talked a lot about the funding for the courthouse renovations in

THC has funding for what they call Certified Local Governments, which means that the city or county is working actively to preserve their historical assets.

Interested in reseraching land records and deeds in Texas? The Texas Historical Commisssion (THC) presents a workshop on how to do just that. Welcome to the real County Clerks' offices across the state of Texas.

For Sarah Montgomery and other County Clerks in Texas, deeds are a large part of their daily duties. For researchers, geneologists and land owners, these records are vital. Most clerks would kiss you if you came into their offices prepared to start research on your own. It's a time...

The Texas Historical Commission (THC) has a list of the historic courthouses dotted across the state. You can spend days, weeks or even months (if you hit the BBQ places in between) driving across the state and seeing these beauties.

I based the Verde County Courthouse on the limestone beauties of the Hill Country.

I'm shaking my head at THC's organization of their website. Most of the pages devoted to individual courthouses are on their "Historic Downtowns" section. But given the fact that...

Actually, as the County Records Management Officer, Sarah's responsible for a lot of record schedules. In her elected duties as County Clerk of Verde County, her office specifically has several types of records that she and her employees are responsible for oveseeing.

They do, and it's FREE! Get the PDF here from TPWD.

There's no shortage of places to view bats in Texas. Creating a suprise colony of bats in a courthouse building was really a no- brainer for me.

I have a smaller option for you today: Old Tunnel State Park. Located in an old railroad tunnel, a colony of about 3 million bats (I swear, these guys can make a home out of anything)

Sarah does a lot, but what do actual County Clerks do in Texas?

Texas Association of Counties (TAC) has you covered.

We do things our own way in Texas. Some of our local officials are elected, and some are appointed.

Do you know which are which?

Things can get confusing and complicated, and since I write fiction now, I can massage things a bit for dramatic impact.

Eons ago, I was a Records Analyst, and I had to follow Texas' requirements for local records management.

Here's a quick guide to Texas Local Government records schedules. It's a simplified version.

I've been busy this week teaching myself how to make maps. As I'm expanding my website for selling my books directly, I've been brainstorming ways to enhance the world of Madison and Verde County, Texas.

I've been scouring the net for comparable towns across Texas to base Madison's streets and Verde county on, and with my Procreate subscription I've been making a visual world of my own making.

Check back for more updates and free goodies on my store.

I was at Goodwill this week, and for some unknown reason I found the original edition of A Field Guide to American Houses in the Self- Help section. I was shocked for several reasons, not the least of which the fact that one of the basic reference books from grad school was staring right back at me.

I don't know where my original copy went. It might have been lost in a move. This one was only $2.99. That's probably because there's a newer 2015 edition out now. The new edition currently goes...

Good news, everyone! Curios is closer now to rolling out a smooth way to order print editions of my books directly from my website. It's June of 2026 now, and soon you'll be able to order my books in print OR get an ebook / print bundle from me.

I'm so excited about this opportunity because it allows me to offer a wider range of things for readers, and at price points that I believe in. Right now I'm hemmed in by restrictions on online retailer like Amazon and Barnes and Noble for how much I...

It's frustrating and overwhelming to tackle that mess in your office, but no one has to go it alone.

Thank TSLAC for compiling a guide. There's a packet for elected officials, and one for non- elected officials. "The elected guys" as we used to refer to them, get their own packets because we all know that sometimes elections get acrimonious and the person you're replacing sometimes leaves a mess for you to inherit on your first day. That's exactly what I planned for Judge Patti Williams when...

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC or Tea Slack) has you covered.

TSLAC is a great staring place for researching county records, but it's hardly the only place to search. Texas Fils has an online database of land records across the state. They also have probate records, searchable by each of the 254 counties.

Despite Texas' notorious anti- federal leanings, it's worth it to check out the Library of Congress's resources for vital statistic and genealogical records that are...

Believe it or not, there are some pre made retention schedules that county officials in Texas can use in order to comply with records retention laws. No one has to start completely from scratch.

About 99% of the records held by any local entity in the state are covered by the state records schedules. TSLAC tried to make it as easy as possible. And in most case, it really is that simple.

And if they want to come up with something completely their own, they can still do a hybrid. In very rare...

Yes, I know it's not Halloween yet. We fly in August.

I kept digging at the Texas Parks and Wildlife You Tube channel, and I found this short video on the Bracken Cave Bat Colony, which is the largest bat colony in the world. I mentioned last week that you can make reservations with Bat Conservation International (BCI), the organization that owns the land where the cave is located. If you become a member of BCI (and I've done that), you can even get a discount on your reservation.

Look at...

In Sarah's case, she more or less knew what she was getting into. As the fourth woman in her family to run for and earn the position of County Clerk of Verde County, she had an idea of what a county records manager (Records Management Officer, or RMO).

But there is a process with two ways to become an RMO.

She doesn't have to do all of it alone, despite the weight of the Montgomery legacy. As with all (real) counties in Texas, there are countless emplyoees who go about carrying out the work of...

The largest colony of Mexican free- tailed bats in Texas is located at Bracken Cave, in Central Texas. The Bat Conservation International owns the cave. As stewards of the cave and its colony, BCI is responsible for ensuring that development doesn't encroach on the natural landscape of the cave.

The pups will roost sepreate from the females, and the males roost in small groups in a different locale. Are the males absent fathers, then? Strictly speaking, I'd say yes. They don't take any role in...

Y'all are killing me, here! KILLING MEE!!! I was hoping to find several videos of bat colonies on the Texas Parks and Wildlife You Tube channel. Alas, there weren't as many as I'd hoped.

Still, I found a great video taken at the Houston Zoo. Houston never faiils to come in for me when it matters. Enjoy this look at a colony, and remember- you can see bats in the wild at the Waugh Avenue Bat Colony.

Thank you, Houston Zoo. Y'all rock!

Wondering what Tea Slack is all about? One of the original state agencies in Texas covers public library services, records managment, archival services and services for the vision impaired.

That's a quick introduction to what TSLAC (or Tea Slack) does for the state of Texas. Let the staff tell you more. Get to know the resources and help available here:

Part II:

Reservations are recommended, but it's a great place to wander in and take a look.