[Draft: Mount Vernon, adaptive reuse] Page: 1 of 2
2 p.View a full description of this text.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Pronunciation: Thruston = THROUGHS ten
In the northeast Texas town of Mount Vernon, population 24-hundred, (can you check
that figure? I saw an estimate of 2,600) yeah I saw that, too...the 2400 came from B.F. but I'll
check with City on Monday....old is new again.
Around the courthouse square and in nearby neighborhoods, historic buildings
constructed of wood, brick, or stone have been restored and creatively adapted to new uses.
The 1940, native-rock fire station has become the Franklin County heritage museum. An
1894 railroad depot switched to a train museum. Two 1890s commercial buildings house the
Chamber of Commerce and a genealogy archive.
There's also a library in a 1900 bank; an art museum in a 1912 jail, and a visitor center in
the 1868 home of Henry Clay Thruston-who, at 7 feet 7 inches, was the tallest soldier in the
Confederacy!
Two abandoned churches also were resurrected. One, from 1907, became a music hall
with monthly chamber music performances; a 1850s house of worship, a residence.
For decades, preservationists used grants and private money to restore local structures,
including 60 homes built before World War One. Now, adaptive re-use is a cornerstone of
economic development. Funds from a half-cent sales tax and a hotel-motel tax (I'm surprised
there are enough places to yield money-I guess the community has bed and breakfast inns in
addition to a motel or two?) They don't get that much from hotel-motel, but it's part of the
mix.. .county gov also assists outright and city adm seems good at grants...still use private funds,
of course....support preservation, plus grants acquired by the city. In 2009, Mount Vernon
adopted zoning ordinances to protect old buildings and to ensure architectural compatibility in
new construction.
Mount Vernon and Franklin County participate in the Main Street and Visionaries in
Preservations programs of the Texas Historical Commission. The 1912, Neo-Classical county
courthouse is undergoing restoration through the commission's historic courthouse preservation
program. And in 2009, Mount Vernon was among three cities honored for its preservation efforts
with the First Lady's Texas Treasures Award.
Ironically, I'm not sure the irony comes through without the explanation that in good times
they tear down and in bad times they maintain...I'd probably just leave that word out.. .when the
Great Depression devastated the area's mostly agricultural economy, home and business
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This text can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Text.
Mallory, Randy. [Draft: Mount Vernon, adaptive reuse], text, 2015; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1924154/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.