Hardin County Historical Commission presents annual report and plans Alamo 'Victory or Death' letter plaque

The Hardin County Historical Commission presented its annual report for fiscal year 2024 and updated the court on the county’s involvement in the statewide "Victory or Death" letter plaque project tied to the Alamo and San Jacinto celebrations.

Jimmy McCann, chairman of the Hardin County Historical Commission, said the commission submits the required annual report to the Texas Historical Commission each February and that the county’s commission remained active in preservation work. He told the court he already had submitted the county report to Austin as required and provided the commissioners with a copy.

McCann described the Alamo "Victory or Death" letter project as a statewide effort to place a plaque in every county that reproduces the text of William Barrett Travis’s letter from the Alamo. He said the inscription helps connect local students and visitors to the period and to local volunteers who later joined Sam Houston’s army at San Jacinto. The commission has collected three estimates for the stone and expects quarry lead times of about 12–14 weeks after an order is placed.

Commissioners discussed timing and display. The commission plans to arrange educational activities on San Jacinto Day, April 21, and indicated the stone need not arrive by that date to hold planned educational events. McCann said the county would handle local labor to offload and install the stone but would need to find a contractor familiar with handling the material. The commission recommended purchasing the stone directly from the quarry owner; McCann said he had already provided multiple cost estimates to staff and would coordinate purchase logistics with county staff (Misty) if the court approves a purchase order.

No vote was recorded on a purchase at this meeting; the item was presented as an informational annual report and project update.