MASON, Texas — The Mason County Courthouse burned down one year ago Friday.
In that time, county leaders have been hard at work behind the scenes to make rebuilding the historic courthouse as easy as possible once construction starts. This winter, scaffolding marked the first signs of progress visible to the public.
"It's a thrill," Mason County Judge Jerry Bearden said Friday. "You see these guys get up on the machines and it shows that something is finally happening. I know the people here have been waiting to see this happen."
The day after the courthouse burned, Bearden set to work securing local and state funding coupled with legislative grants and other grant applications. The entire project to rebuild the 111-year-old courthouse will cost just shy of $20 million. Bearden said between secured funding and donations from the Friends of the Mason County Courthouse fundraising group, they only need approximately $2 million to reach their goal.
"For so long, it just sat there, it was painful because it just was a burned building," Bearden said. "Now they can see the roof go on, the columns cleaned up. Every day I look out my window, put a smile on my face, walk over the fence, circle it, then tell that grand ol' lady, 'We're going to put you back together.'"
Because of severe winter weather Friday, the County's plans to honor and thank the firefighters who helped put out the blaze last year was postponed to the following week.
Investigators determined the fire was started intentionally. Law enforcement charged Nicholas Miller with arson days after the fire. Miller allegedly led police on a chase from Mason shortly after the fire started inside the courthouse. The chase continued into nearby McCulloch County before police caught up with Miller.
According to Bearden, Miller will see his first day in court later in February for a pre-trial hearing. Bearden hopes Miller will take a plea deal as a full trial would cost the County money it would rather spend rebuilding the historic courthouse.
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