Castro, Donley county courthouses receive Texas Historical Commission restoration grants

DONLEY COUNTY, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – The Texas Historical Commission announced that Castro and Donley counties in the Texas Panhandle were two of nine counties awarded a total of more than $45.2 million in matching grants for historic county courthouse preservation and restoration projects.

According to the THC, the grants were awarded for Round 13 of the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program at its quarterly meeting.

As detailed by the THC, grant recipients included:

• Full restoration grants for Comanche, Kimble, Van Zandt and Willacy counties;
• Future restoration planning grants for Castro and Gonzales counties; and
• Emergency grants to address critical issues endangering courthouses and impacting their use in Donley, Duval and Refugio counties.

The THC noted that the round of THCPP grants were made possible through a $45 million appropriation by the state, with another $3-4 million anticipated in September from the Historic Infrastructure Sustainability Trust Fund. The agency determined grant awards by assessing 23 criteria, such as the building’s age, endangerment, historical designations, project proposals, local support and others. Emergency grant requests were scored based on seven criteria, with emergency requests for previously restored courthouses scored on 14 criteria.

A new longevity criterion, said THC, was also added to provide points for previously unsuccessful applicants that recognize the county’s commitment to preservation goals.

“The requests we received this year demonstrate both the counties’ enthusiasm and their need for the funds this program provides,” said THC Executive Director Joseph Bell. “We look forward to partnering with these nine recipients and preserving their real histories and authentic characters.”

As noted in previous reports on MyHighPlains.com, the THC works to preserve and restore significant landmarks and buildings in Texas through outreach and awareness as well as historical designations and grant funding. The commission’s markers and designations include those for subjects, recorded historic landmarks, state antiquities, and historic cemeteries. Courthouses across Texas often have educational subject marker designations or are marked as Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks.

“As part of our mission to save the real places that tell the real stories of Texas, we hope to work with even more counties in the future,” Bell said.

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