About Us

Smith County Historical Society

The Society, incorporated under the laws of the State of Texas, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization formed in 1959. It was formed to serve these purposes:

to discover, collect and preserve data, records and items relating to the history of Smith County, Texas;
to provide public education relating to the history of Smith County, Texas;
to maintain an archival collection that is available to the public for research and education relating to the history of Smith County, Texas;
to maintain museum(s) and to work with any museum for the preservation of historical artifacts relating to the history of Smith County, Texas;
to publish an historical magazine called CHRONICLES OF SMITH COUNTY, TEXAS, as well as any other books and materials relating to history that the Society deems worthy of publication;
to hold periodic meetings and programs on historical topics for the benefit of members of the Society and the public in general;
to solicit contributions of money or other property for the purpose of carrying out the foregoing programs; and
to do and perform generally and anywhere all acts and things reasonably incident to the corporate purposes.

Active Committees

Executive Officers

President: Larry Wade
Vice President: Steve Heidrick
Treasurer: Sheila Austin
Recording Secretary: Ashley Taylor

Directors Elected 2023:

Marilyn Willis

Marilyn Young

Kenna Smotherman Greyling

Directors returning:

Christopher Leahy

Mark Thacker

Daye Collins

Office Staff

Office Manager/ Volunteer & Intern Coordinator: Virginia Leath
Archives Manager: Tiffany Wright

Jack T. Greer Memorial Fund

Larry Wade
Tiffany Wright
Vicki Betts

Collections

Chairperson: Scott Fitzgerald

Programs and Events

Chairperson: Steve Heidrick

Fundraising

Chairperson: Kathy Gaston
Ray Kent
Larry Wade
Daye Collins

Chronicles of Smith County Publications

Editor
Vicki Betts, Smith County Historical Society

Associate Editor
Emily Scheinfeld, Univ. of Texas at Tyler

Board of Editors
Carol Kehl, Smith County Historical Society
Matthew M. Stith, Univ. of Texas at Tyler

Camp Ford

Chairperson: Ashton Oravetz

For more information on our organization please feel free to call our offices or contact us through our Get Involved page. If you’d like to know more about these committees or when they meet please take a look at our calendar and events page here.