‘Small Room Humongous Value’ Fort Bend County District Clerk’s office opens historical documents room to the public

story and photo by SCOTT REESE WILLEY | swilley@fbherald.com

Historical researcher Barbara Crump-Jones knows well the value of looking through historical records that are posted online. She’s always searching for historical records regarding her hometown of Kendleton, Civil Rights icon Willie Melton and the prison convict leasing program better known now as the Sugar Land 95.

Jones finds a lot of information online. But she also looks forward to handling historical documents, seeing the actual printed page.

“There’s nothing like holding the actual document in your hand,” she said. So Jones was ecstatic when Fort Bend County District Clerk Beverley Walker and her staff opened the recently completed historical documents room to the public.

“This is a momentous, significant and what some would say is a very auspicious occasion, because we are about to open a room that is very small...but it’s value is humongous,” Walker told civic leaders and public servants who attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony on the third floor of the Fort Bend County Justice Center in Richmond.

“Remember, the District Clerk is one of the oldest positions in county government. We were around at the founding of the Republic of Texas.”

She said the historical document room includes criminal and civil cases that go back to 1838 — before Texas was even a state.

“Those of you who love history like I do, you will remember that Texas became a state in December 1845,” she said. “So we have records going back to the Republic.”