Final Drive for the Armstrong Texas Ranger Research Center Renovation

We are in the final stages of a fund drive to renovate the Texas Ranger Research Center, the official research center of the Texas Rangers.

If you have requested help with research on Texas Ranger ancestors, read the Dispatch magazine, visited the museum or accessed this web site you have used Research Center resources. It is a legacy and a time capsule for future generations.

Chaired by Tobin Armstrong, Jr. and Barclay Armstrong of Houston, the project is described below. Rodney Joy of First Security Bank and Perry Elliott of First Financial Bank are leading a special committee to match a final grant with donations from private individuals and are encouraging the support of Texas community banks.

Tax-deductible donations may be sent to Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, Armstrong Research Center, PO Box 2570, Waco, TX 76702-2570. All are gratefully received and donors wil be appropriately recognized.

Additional information and a prospectus is available by calling Byron Johnson, Director, Texas Ranger Hall of Fame toll free at 1-877-750-8631 or emailing info@texasranger.org.

How You Can Contribute to
the Preservation of Texas Ranger History

Opened in 1976, the Texas Ranger Research Center is the historical center of the famed Texas Ranger law enforcement agency. Its educational and preservation programs serve more than 600,000 persons a year on-site, over the Internet and by mail.

Its collections of official records, documents, photographs and books span three centuries and preserve a heritage for present and future generations of Texans. Many Texas families have a personal connection with the Texas Rangers that is documented here for their descendents. In recognition of this treasure, the Texas Legislature designated the Center "Official Repository for the Texas Rangers."

After three decades the modest 1,000 square foot facility requires renovation. Its irreplaceable historical collections are growing, and its worldwide audience is expanding.

The family of Tobin and Anne Armstrong has joined with the Texas Ranger Museum to lead a drive to improve and remodel the Research Center. The renovated facility will be named in honor of Tobin and Anne Armstrong, two esteemed Texas Citizens.

Tobin Armstrong, Sr. was a legend in Texas ranching and public service. He was especially proud of his grandfather, Texas Ranger and U.S. Marshal John B. Armstrong (1850-1913). Ranger Armstrong is perhaps best known for the capture of outlaw John Wesley Hardin and for his later career as a south Texas rancher. He is an inductee of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum.

The late Mrs. Anne Armstrong, a Presidential advisor, U.S. ambassador to the Court of St. James, and businesswoman, was also immensely proud of this family heritage. She graciously permitted this honor on behalf of her husband and herself.

Educational Services

Our most important clients are teachers and students from 1st grade through graduate school. Teachers and textbook authors use the Center to prepare school curricula, students class research reports, history fair projects and dissertations.We offer this help over the Internet, on-site and by mail.

A large constituency is that of family historians tracing Ranger ancestors; each year 3,000 or more genealogists contact us to prove an ancestor was a Texas Ranger or document their service.

Our most visible clients are authors or producers; they have written or produced hundreds of books, major motion pictures, cable and public television programs or feature articles about the Texas Rangers in the last decade

And law enforcement agencies have used case files and notes preserved by the Center to reopen and, incomse cases, assist in solving cold cases–decades old crimes.

The Plan

The architectural plan, with services donated by architect James McBride of Houston, calls for a renovation of 1,000 sf and and a modest addition of 3,000 sf facility which will:

O Add capacity to house the growing collections spanning three centuries
O Improve work areas for short and long-term researchers
O Add processing space to clean, sort and inventory collections
O Improve environmental controls and fire suppression
O Create a gallery to exhibit important documents

Texas Bankers Association and
the Independent Bankers Association of Texas Encourage Renovation

The TBA Board of Directors endorsed a fundraising program for the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco. The board approved a grant of up to $5,000 to be used to match any donations sent for tile museum by Texas bankers. The matching funds will be made by the Texas Bankers Foundation, the charitable arm of TBA.

The endorsement, made at the request of Texas bankers Rodney Joy of First Security State Bank, and Perry Eiliott of First Financial Bankshares, will be used to renovate the official historical center of the legendary Texas Rangers law enforcement agency.

The complex of which the Armstrong Center is a part consists of an historical museum, hall of fame, Texas Ranger Company "F" headquarters, youth education center, and banquet facility. It has been visited by more than 3.5 million persons.

Its heart is the state-sanctioned Texas Ranger Research Center, which houses irreplaceable records, documents, rare books, service files and photographs. After three decades of service, the Texas Ranger. Research Center needs renovation and greater material resources.

A fund drive was begun In 2007, which has reached $1. 1 million of the $1.5 mill ion needed for construction. The deadline to raise the remaining construction funds and secure a $500,000 matching grant is 2010.