What we do
We promote preservation awareness and work to protect, preserve, & share Plano's heritage resources.
What we do
We promote preservation awareness and work to protect, preserve, & share Plano's heritage resources.
Share Your Story - The Texas Freedom Colonies Project
The Texas Freedom Colonies Project puts freedom colonies on the map, on policy agendas, and at the center of Texas history. "Our goal is to prevent the erasure, destruction, and decay of cultural properties within settlements in partnership with descendant communities. Cultural properties include home/farmsteads, churches, and schools. The Texas Freedom Colonies Project is an educational, social justice initiative dedicated to preserving the heritage of Texas’ historic African American settlements, and the planners and preservationists that made them possible. We are researchers who map disappearing places and co-create resilience strategies with endangered communities. To support freedom colonies’ community resilience, the Project engages in three core activities."
The best way to support their work is by recording the histories of the Black communities created between 1865-1930 in Collin County.
Do you have a story to share? Click Here -https://www.thetexasfreedomcoloniesproject.com/share-your-story
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Hidden History of plano Book
Did you know that Plano once had a winning semipro baseball team? And its own university, boasting a pagoda imported from Malaysia? Or that the city once proudly proclaimed itself the "Mule Capital of the World"? Meet the Native American Planoite who walked in space, the African American entrepreneur who prospered in Jim Crow Texas and the man behind the "mystery stone" uncovered in the Collinwood House. Visit a military tank, a five-hundred-year-old tree and the pioneer cemetery started by a smallpox epidemic. From the town's contributions to World War II to the secrets lurking beneath Collin Creek Mall, unlock the astonishingly large storehouse of Plano's hidden history.
Written by Plano Conservancy Board Members Mary Jacobs & Cheryl Smith and Director Jeff Campbell. The book is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and at the Interurban Railway Museum.
Help Our Cause
Your gifts, whether large or small, help us achieve our mission of preserving, promoting, and protecting Plano and Collin County's history.
It's all about community
Ongoing Outreach
Educational Programs
Educational Programs
We write and install educational wayside signs at Plano's most historic sites, conduct oral history interviews with Plano elders, and provide opportunities for newcomers to learn more about their city.
Educational Programs
Educational Programs
Educational Programs
We host free, interactive exhibits at the Interurban Railway Museum and organize educational annual events like Hike Through History and the Plano Archaeology Fair at historic Plano locations.
Historic Cemetery Restoration
Historic Cemetery Restoration
Historic Cemetery Restoration
We work with local Plano cemeteries to preserve & restore headstones, protect them from property damage, and promote their historical significance in the community.
The Interurban Railway Museum
Historic Cemetery Restoration
Historic Cemetery Restoration
We manage the City of Plano's Interurban Railway Museum. Our office is also located in the museum building.
Our Partners
