DEADLINE: August 17, 2026 by 5 p.m. Central time

The City of San Marcos Arts program is seeking quotes for from interested qualified Respondents to conduct local history research on inductees to the Dunbar History Walk in San Marcos, Texas. The selected Respondent will provide a contextual history of the Dunbar neighborhood; a brief narrative of each inductee to the Dunbar History Walk; oral stories about the inductees if available (transcripts of recording need not be included in this proposal); and a curated folder of high-resolution scans of available photos and relevant documents.

These deliverables will be publicly available on the SMTXarts.com website and must be tailored to a general audience.

Please submit a written quote to Arts Coordinator Trey Hatt via email at arts@sanmarcostx.gov no later than August 17, 2026 by 5 p.m. Central time.

Project background

The Dunbar History Walk is a multi-year project to acknowledge, remember, and honor places and people that are important to the Dunbar community, a historically significant Black neighborhood in San Marcos, Texas. Individual plaques for these places and people will be installed around the sidewalk loop at Dunbar Park with new installations added annually.

In the spring of 2026 the project’s Review Committee selected 20 inductees for the first year of the project. The City of San Marcos Arts Program will create an online portal for multimedia historic information on these and future inductees to the Dunbar History Walk.

Specifications and deliverables

The successful Respondent will conduct and provide:

  • Written broad contextual history of Dunbar neighborhood
  • Archival research and polished narrative for each of the 20 inductees, tailored for public audience
  • Oral stories audio archive
  • Curated folder of high-resolution scans of photographs and relevant documents

Deliverables presented to a Review Committee prior to final acceptance and publication on the Visit San Marcos Website.

The City and the Dunbar History Walk committees will evaluate and rank each Response based on relevant experience and work samples in addition to project proposal. The City reserves the right to request additional information or clarifications from all Respondents and to allow corrections of errors or omissions.

Final Decision: In responding to this Solicitation, the Respondents understand that the decision of the selection committee is final. All Responses will be reviewed and ranked according to the criteria above, and Respondents may be selected for interviews or oral presentations as may be necessary. The City makes no commitment to any Respondent to this Solicitation beyond consideration of the Response.

Requirements for response

Respondents should submit the following information in their proposals:

  • Executive summary
  • Price proposal
  • Proposed project schedule, strategy and approach
  • Relevant experience information
  • A reference list of clients with contact names, telephone numbers, and email addresses.  Projects listed should encompass minimum of 3 years of experience.
  • Examples of past work, to include writing samples and links to relevant previous projects

Contact Arts Coordinator Trey Hatt at arts@sanmarcostx.gov for any questions or clarifications.