Mason County Receives Huge Grant for Courthouse Restoration

MASON, TX – Mason County Judge Jerry Bearden was notified last week that Mason County had been chosen as a recipient for a Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program (THCPP) grant which would fund a complete restoration of the Mason County Courthouse.

The THCPP notified Judge Bearden that competition during this round of funding was extremely limited with twenty-one applicants.

After some time the THCPP commissioners chose four planning projects, three major construction projects, and two emergency projects to allot funding to.

Although the total grant requests during this round of funding totaled well over $100 million; the Texas Legislature only allocated $25 million for this session, but only a little over $20 million was actually awarded to the varying nine projects.

Mason County was awarded roughly $4,140,119, of which will go directly to a complete restoration project on the Mason County courthouse, as the city looks to revive a historic part of Mason county, invigorating with pride through the restoration of a treasured local landmark.

The Texas Historical Commission is scheduled to host an orientation webinar on Friday, July 31 in order to discuss the overall procedures and team member responsibilitie's with grant recipients.

Funding will be given out some time in the fall, and shortly after county offices will temporarily relocate to the Richard P. Eckert Civic Center where they will establish daily operations for the county's business operations until restoration is completed.

At this time full construction on the restoration is scheduled to begin shortly after the first of the year.