GATESVILLE, Texas (KXXV) — "We need to have a master plan — our courthouse is 125 years old — it was finished in 1897," said County Commissioner, Ryan Basham.
"We need to have this plan to move forward with the building and to have some help with what we need to get done."
Coryell County Commissioners are moving forward with plans to fix up our community's historic courthouse, starting with evaluating the building's condition and deciding what needs to be restored, repaired or completely redone.
The work also includes making sure the building's character and charm are preserved at the same time.
"It's important to work toward a plan for the courthouse — it's important to hopefully, as part of that plan, preserve the history of that courthouse — the history of the area, the importance of the area," said Coryell Museum's Board President, Ervin Adams.
Historic intervention isn't cheap — Basham says the courthouse recently updated one of the domes, which cost around $48,000 of taxpayer money.
With a master plan, the repairs can be covered by grant money.
"I think it's awesome that we obviously don't have to foot the bill for any of the improvements coming along," Adams said.
"Hopefully they will be preserving the history of it as they go, and not forgetting the history or changing the history."
Basham says some of the things like the statues and other domes need to be redone and repaired — this master plan can lead these improvements in the right direction.
"Our courthouse is the prettiest courthouse in the state of Texas — I'm awfully proud of it," Basham said.
"It means a lot to have this plan in place and to move forward with some projects to keep it looking pretty."
