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September / October 2009
Volume 21, Number 5

News you can use

Texas Historical Commission Starts Round VI
of Courthouse Restoration Grants

Counties with master plans to restore their historic courthouses have until Dec. 1 to submit an application with the T exas Historical commission for grant funding. Applications submitted during the prior funding round will be automatically rolled forward unless counties choose to revise their submitted information.

During its 81st Legislative Session, the Legislature allocated $20 million to go toward historic courthouse restoration projects. The allocation was short of the T HC’s $85 million request due to predicted future economic conditions, but T HC said the Legislature showed strong support for continuing the initiative.

Since the Courthouse Preservation Program began in 1999, THC has awarded $207 million to counties and local governments for historic renovation projects, and counties have matched funds to the tune of $130 million.

The courthouse grants helped Fayette County restore its courthouse’s open atrium, which had been covered over the course of time to increase work space. Another grant removed the stucco exterior added to the Wharton County Courthouse in 1935, as well as additions to the building that had been constructed in the 1940s, completely transforming the courthouse’s appearance back to its original 1889 condition. Another grant rebuilt the gothic tower that sat atop the Bosque County Courthouse in 1886, which had been missing since 1935.

In all, 36 counties fully restored their courthouses between 2001 and 2007, and eight more counties have completed partial restoration or emergency projects. More projects are under construction or finishing; this year, Brooks, McCulloch, Newton and Rains counties all expect to rededicate their courthouses, thanks to the program. Fifty-four more counties have approved master plans to do so but are awaiting grant funding.

Courthouse restoration initiatives are more than just construction projects and often benefit cities and counties in numerous ways, according to the THC. The projects help promote economic growth by rejuvenating downtown areas and business districts surrounding the courthouses.

“This program is a great example of how the Texas Historical Commission works to save the real places in our communities that help to tell their stories,” said Stan Graves, director of the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Grant Program, in a recent report published by THC to update others about the effects of the program. “The historic county courthouse is the keeper of the county’s history. It should invite people to learn more about themselves.”

More information about the program and successful restoration projects around the state can be found on the THC Web site at www.thc.state.tx.us. The THC recently published Courthouse Cornerstones: An Update of the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, which is also available on the Web site.