Mission & History

The Hopkins County Genealogical Society (HCGS) is organized and operated as a non-profit tax-exempt 501 (c) 3 corporation as defined by the IRS and is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

OUR MISSION

• TO PRESERVE genealogical and historical materials of Texas, with emphasis on the Northeast area.
• TO PROTECT the family histories and records of people and places that represent the area and to provide a public repository for research and storage of materials collected by Hopkins County Genealogical Society.
• TO PROMOTE research in family history through educational and instructional programs and workshops.
• TO PROVIDE resource material for research relating to Texas with emphasis on Hopkins County.
• TO EXPAND awareness of genealogical and historical information through publications of materials relating to Hopkins County Texas.

OUR HISTORY

Hopkins County Genealogical Society was founded in 1981 and members established a small library in a side room at the Sulphur Springs Public Library.  Both the society membership and the genealogical collection expanded quickly and soon outgrew the space available at the public library.  Glynn Lowe and the Sulphur Springs Loan and Building Association offered a two-room office space in a building adjoining the L&B. The City of Sulphur Springs allowed HCGS to move the genealogical collection to the new site and listed the books as on permanent loan to the society.

In September 1994 City National Bank acquired a 2700 square foot building at 212 Main Street on a foreclosure and offered the building for sale to HCGS for a more permanent library space.  Funds were raised by a pledge and memorial contribution campaign as well as through a major county records inventory project. Eighteen volunteers worked over a seven-month period to complete an inventory of eleven county offices and prepare records retention schedules. The society earned $8,700 from the Hopkins County Commissioners Court to complete the project. The society had a five-year note to complete payment on the building. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held December 13, 1994 for the new home in the Starr-Pate Building constructed around 1898.

In 1998, the society received a generous gift of $50,000 from the estate of Wilbur Myers. The money was designated as building fund money in the event the library needed to expand. In 2001, the building adjoining the library at 210 Main Street became available and was purchased.  A major renovation of the two buildings was undertaken that year. The new building was designated the Wilbur Myers Archives and housed a collection of early court house record books that were donated by various offices such as justices of the peace, tax assessor, and county clerk. In addition, there are many original church record books, photographs, society and civic club records, and many other records.

In the spring of 2015, the Society moved to its present location of 611 North Davis Street. A ribbon cutting ceremony and open house were held on Thursday, May 21, 2015. The genealogy library is housed in the former meeting room of the Sulphur Springs Public Library. Since moving, all books have been labeled and processed into a word searchable catalogue, the archives have been inventoried into a spreadsheet, and the map collection has been organized. Recently HCGS has purchased a new microfilm reader in memory of June Tuck. The reader is a ScanPro 3000, offering the fastest, most effective and highest resolution scanning capabilities on the market today.

In addition, the Society partnered with The Portal to Texas History, a website sponsored by the University of North Texas, to digitize known copies of Hopkins County newspapers both microfilmed and hard copy. Many images are now available online. The Society also partnered with Texas A&M Commerce to digitize many archival materials such as photographs and scrapbooks.