The influence of the Wilson potters on the Capote community and the central Texas region was assured because of the dedication they had to their pottery making enterprise.Of equal significance are the individual contributions of Hiram Wilson, Sr. in establishing churches and schools in Capote and in the nearby community of Seguin. The descendants of Hiram and James Wilson are understandably proud of the legacy left behind by their Capote ancestors. Furthermore, the descendants believe in the importance or preserving the legacy so that it might be shared among Wilson family members, students of the history, and the public at large.

In recent years, the attention paid to the Wilson pottery legacy has evolved and is now more far-reaching than could have ever been imagined. In acknowledging the existence of well-preserved pieces of H. Wilson and Company pottery stoneware in museums, galleries, and private collections, questions are asked from whence these magnificent pieces of art were born. Where are the specific site locations where the simple toils of the Capote potters were to become so relevant and command attention in the art world of today?

There are three pottery sites in Capote where kilns were used to fire pottery pieces and where bricks were made to construct the kilns. These sites have been designated in the State of Texas Register of Historic Places as location 41GU4, 41GU5, and 41GU6. Site 41GU6 is the original location of Rev. John McKamie Wilson, Jr.'s Guadalupe Pottery company. Site 41GU5 is the location worked by Hiram, James, and Wallace Wilson. It was here that the H. Wilson and Company stoneware pieces were made. Site 41GU4 is the location of the third site in Capote that was worked by John Chandler, Marion Durham, and James Wilson. Site 41GU4, also referred to as "Site #3", is the most accessible in today's Capote Hills area, as it is located on the roadside of FM 466 in eastern Guadalupe County. Its condition was found to be superior to that of the other two sites, and this is what prompted Richard Kinz to approach the Wilson family about the possibility of pursuing a Preservation Trust Fund Grant from the Texas Historical Commission (THC) to help fund the site's registration.

Richard Kinz, a Seguin-area resident, is a retired surveyor and local historian. He has a keen interest in the Capote Wilson potters and has himself conducted classes on pottery making on occasion. He was once a Volunteer Archeological Steward for the The Texas Historical Commission, and it was during this time that he went to the Historical Committee during the 1999 Wilson Family Reunion and inquired if there was an interest in taking advantage of the Preservation Grant offered by the THC. LaVerne Britt was the chair of the Historical Committee, and she went to the reunion president, Maurice Wilson, Jr., and to the representatives of each Wilson family branch to get inputs on whether the grant should be pursued. There was overwhelming agreement to move forward with the proposal, and thus the groundwork was laid.

Among the requirements for an organization that applies for a THC Preservation Grant is that it have a non-profit, tax-exempt status. At the time, no such organization existed that was affiliated with the Wilson family. LaVerne Britt took the initiative to get the organization created that would meet the required qualifications. Early on, she enlisted the assistance of fellow family members, John Merriwether and Joe Reid. She spent many hours researching how to start a corporation, and the three of them worked together to get the organization underway that was compliant with the guidelines of the State of Texas. The articles of incorporation required of corporations seeking non-profit status were composed along with a set of bylaws. These documents were revised several times, but finally they were completed and prepared for forwarding to the office of the Texas Secretary of State, with the names of LaVerne L. Britt, John Merriwether, Sr., and Joseph A. Reid submitted as incorporators. On December 2, 1999, incorporation of the organization formally known as The Descendants of Hiram, James, and Wallace Wilson Historical Foundation, D.B.A. (Doing Business As) the Wilson Pottery Foundation, was official.

The task of seeking candidates to install as members of the Foundation's Board of Directors was begun immediately. As specified in the Foundation's original bylaws, five Board positions were to be filled by professionals whose expertise would serve the corporation and by members of the community whose prominence and exquisite citizenship would enhance the Board's complement of directors. Eight Board positions were to be filled by a Wilson family member. The following persons comprised the original Wilson Historical Foundation Board of Directors:

• LaVerne Britt, President, Ret. Educator, San Antonio, TX. (Wilson descendant)
• Faris Wilson, V. President, Ret. Educator, LaMarque, TX (Wilson descendant)
• Cleo Graves, Secretary, Educator, Pflugerville, TX (Wilson descendant)
• John Merriwether, Treasurer, Principal, Round Rock, TX (Wilson descendant)
• Jo Long Williams, Ret. Dir, Carver Culture Center, San Antonio, TX
• John Gesick, Dir. Heritage Musuem, Seguin, TX
• Judge Jim Sagebiel, Guadalupe County Judge, Seguin, TX
• Dr. Shirley Mock, Archeologist, Institute of Texan Cultures, San Antonio, TX
• LeJeune Embry, Vice Pres. ARP Consulting, Arlington, TX (Wilson descendant)
• Rev. Roscoe Wilson, Minister, Columbia, SC (Wilson descendant)
• James Johnson, CPA, Houston, TX (Wilson descendant)
• Richard Kinz, Archeologist, Stockdale, TX
• Linn Waiters, Educator, San Antonio, TX (Wilson descendant)

The specific objectives and purposes of the Descendants of Hiram, James, and Wallace Wilson Historical Foundation as originally stipulated in the Articles of Incorporation shall be:

1. To locate, purchase, preserve, and renovate the Hiram, James, and Wallace Wilson Pottery Sites.

2. To provide a unified avenue for the Wilson descendants to ban together to collect the Hiram and James Pottery.

3. To establish a Wilson Family Museum to house the Wilson Pottery and memorabilia.

4. To involve and encourage each generation of descendants to appreciate and participate in keeping alive their heritage.

5. To share with the community and citizens at large the rich heritage of the Wilson Family.

6. To create a vehicle that will unify all efforts towards preserving the Capote Baptist Church, Capote Cemetery, and Hiram, James, and Wallace Wilson Pottery sites and original homesteads.

Since December 1999, the Wilson Historical Foundation has gone about the business of fulfilling each of the aforementioned purposes and continues to the best of its ability to see that all of them are carried out.