Members
of the Brazos Heritage Society will recall that at our 2013 Annual Membership
Meeting Mervin Peters provided us with a report on a restoration project of a
historic log cabin located on property owned by the Texas Municipal Power
Agency. And at our 2014 Annual
Membership Meeting Tom McDonald provided additional information about this
project.
Earlier
this week we received an email from Mervin Peters containing some good news on
the progress of this project. His email
reads as follows:
Please pardon the long stretch
since you last had an update on the cabin relocation and restoration project
that you have been so supportive of and helpful with.
Many months ago the Board of
Directors of Texas Municipal Power Agency approved transfer of the cabin for
the purpose of moving it to Boonville subject to the Texas Historical
Commission granting them unrestricted permission to do so. On February 21
we received the THC letter clearing the way for TMPA to transfer
ownership. This project would not even be a possibility had TMPA not done
such an exceptional job of preventing further deterioration during the last
thirty years with them as the owners.
On February 24 TMPA forwarded
the executed copy of the Bill of Sale to me transferring ownership to Boonville
Re-Development, LLC, an entity created solely for the purpose of acquiring
assets and arranging for their restoration and placement in Boonville Heritage
Park subject to approval of the Brazos County Commissioners Court.
On February 25 at the regular
meeting of the Brazos County Commissioners Court’s unanimous approval was given
to the placement of the cabin in the Park subject only to our completion of the
restoration and other planned improvements.
While all of this has been
proceeding we have also been working with Heritage Restoration in Waco that
does log structure recovery and restoration all over the United States and
Canada. We will be signing a contract in the coming days with them for
about $109,000 to include everything but the foundation and a few outside items
needed. The cabin will be in first class
shape when done and should have at least another one hundred and sixty years of
use and enjoyment.
Heritage Restoration expects to
start the disassembly within the next couple of weeks. That will take a week and they will do all of
the restoration work in Waco taking about forty-five days and then deliver to
Bryan and it will be set up for the final time. Another month or two will
be required to add the fireplace, roof, porches and ADA entry. Somewhere
along in this process we will start working with the Curator at the Star of
Texas Museum to layout a typically period furnished two crib cabin. She
will also help us identify some possible sources of furnishings that might be
appropriate.
We have also been raising funds
and to date have $105,900 with hopefully additions to come. If any of you
happen to know of individuals or entities of any sort who might be interested
in a project of this nature and might offer financial support, please let me
know as I would be happy to visit with them.
Without your support,
assistance, professional expertise and maybe most of all encouragement, we
would not be on the threshold of beginning the placement of assets in Boonville
Heritage Park that many with the County and the public spoke and dreamed of
some thirty years ago. It will become a terrific educational venue and
well as an interesting tourist attraction and a place of enjoyment for all of the
residents of Brazos and surrounding counties.
When work begins at the
Boonville site, I hope you will check by from time to time to see firsthand the
community asset you have significantly helped to become a reality.
This is
wonderful news. The Brazos Heritage
Society, which has supported this project, commends Mervin Peters for all his
work in making this happen. Persons
interested in contributing to this effort may send a check to the Brazos Valley
Museum of Natural History with the notation that it is for the Turner-Peters
Dogtrot Log Cabin Project.
