County wins grant!

State awards $2.9 million to Donley County

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Donley County has been awarded nearly $2.9 million in a matching grant to restore the 1890 courthouse.

The Texas Historical Commission (THC) announced the grant recipients of the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program at its quarterly meeting last Thursday, May 4.

Donley County Judge Jack Hall flew to San Antonio for the meeting and said he couldn’t sleep after the announcement was made because of his excitement.

“We’re really excited and very pleased,” Hall said during Monday’s meeting of the commissioners’ court. “We’re looking forward to getting the courthouse restored.”

The funds from the state will allow the Donley County Courthouse to be returned to its original design, and the project will include reconstruction of the third floor of the tower and dormers that were taken off in the 1930s.

Additionally, structural problems will be addressed, the roof will be properly repaired and sealed, and the bats will be removed from the attic. The building will also be rewired, all mechanical and plumbing systems will be updated, and air-conditioning will be installed.

Commissioners will hold a special meeting next Monday to chose an architect for the project.

Jean Stavenhagen, Chairman of the Donley County Historical Commission, said her group had a good feeling about the grant from the beginning.

“We felt we had a very good chance because of our connections with the THC and their work on the courthouse in the past,” she said. “I never dreamed that we’d get everything we asked for, and now I can hardly wait for them to begin.”

Construction could start as soon as this December, officials say. The county will need to submit architectural plans and specifications for the improvements to the THC before then.

Matching grants totaling more than $42 million were awarded to 19 counties. Donley County’s total grant was $2,891,408.

 “I join the members of the Texas Historical Commission in congratulating the inaugural grant recipients of the Texas Courthouse Preservation Program,” said Gov. George W. Bush. “Because we acted today to preserve these historic buildings, years from now Texans will be able to ascend the steps of historic courthouses throughout the state.”

“Historic courthouses are a profound reminder of the spirit and vision of our ancestors,” said THC Executive Director Larry Oaks. “Today, it is our responsibility to honor this irreplaceable legacy by empowering local communities to use preservation as a way to promote heritage tourism and revitalize local economies.”

The Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program was created in 1999 by Gov. Bush and the Texas Legislature to distribute $50 million in matching grants to Texas counties for the restoration of their historic courthouses. It represents the largest and most far-reaching historic preservation initiative ever conceived by a state government.

The THC calls Texas courthouses a “symbol of strength, pride, progress, and democracy for more than 150 years.”

The local Romanesque Revival style courthouse was designed by the firm of Bulger and Rapp of Trinidad, Colorado, and was completed in 1891. The structure is asymmetrical – meaning no two sides are alike – which is an unusual feature for a building of its type in Texas at that time. It is now the oldest functioning courthouse in the Texas Panhandle.

The building currently has serious problems with water infiltration and with bats infesting the attic due to a deteriorating metal cornice.

The only other Panhandle area county to receive funding under Round I of the grants was Gray County, which received $3,825,773 – a larger amount than any other county in the state.

Other Round I grant recipient counties included: Atascosa, Bexar, Ellis, Erath, Grimes, Hopkins, Lampasas, Lee, Llano, Maverick, Milam, Presidio, Rains, Red River, Shackelford, Sutton, and Wharton.

There were 58 qualified applicants for the Round I grants. Counties not funded during these first grants will get another chance to apply for funding in Round II later this year.