Montgomery County's Genealogy & Preservation Center, which serves nearly 4,000 researchers a year, will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a free public event on Wednesday, Aug. 19, after Judge Mark Keough and the Commissioners Court proclaimed the date "Genealogy & Preservation Center Day."

The Woodlands is unincorporated Montgomery County, and the Commissioners Court is one of two governing bodies for township residents. The center, part of the Montgomery County Memorial Library System, is open to all county cardholders.

The proclamation, published Aug. 9 on the county library system's website, recognizes the center's growth from 50 books and six rolls of microfilm in 1976 into what the court called "one of the largest genealogy centers in Texas." The collection now holds nearly 40,000 physical items, including documents, photographs and more than 200 historical maps.

The center occupies a dedicated 5,000-square-foot space on the second floor of the Central Library in Conroe. It moved there in 1997 after outgrowing earlier quarters. A 1980 fire temporarily closed the building, but by the end of that decade the collection had already reached 15,000 books and 9,500 rolls of microfilm.

A grant from the Mellon Foundation expanded the center's capabilities. The funding added high-grade public digitization stations, a dedicated oral history meeting space, a podcasting booth and grant-funded digitization of the Conroe Courier newspaper from 1925 to 1983. The grant amount was not disclosed.

Genealogy Manager Cindy Amburgy said the center continues to thrive as a preservation and family-history research space.

"I am proud of the team that makes the Center such a strong resource for our community, and we are excited for the great work we will continue building together in the years ahead," Amburgy said.

The center also partners with the Montgomery County Historical Commission and the Montgomery County Genealogical and Historical Society.

The anniversary celebration runs from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, on the second floor of the Central Library, 104 I-45 North, Conroe, TX 77301. Cake and coffee will be served. The event is free and open to the public. Residents needing accommodations should contact the Central Library at least three days before the event.