By Bill Hight, VFW Post 8554 Commander
Post 8554 raises Funds for Mason County Tragedy IN FEBRUARY OF 2021, Mason County lost their heirloom courthouse built in 1909 as a result of an arsonist, who allegedly was upset with the determination of the court to refuse him custody of his children. The irony of the whole story is that this was the second courthouse of Mason County to be burned by an arsonist. Fortunately, due to a pending renovation the building was empty except for historic furnishings. Mason County was established as a Texas County in 1851 containing two factions of residents. Those to the east and south were German immigrants who came there in about 1848, and the north and west portions were settled by Anglos. The burning of the original courthouse was due to the warfare nature of events between the two factions over cattle theft and intrusion of grazing on ranges west of Mason. This was known as the Hoo Doo War. The second courthouse was torn down because it had no indoor plumbing and lacked other requirements needed for a county courthouse.
Mason is in the process of rebuilding the historic courthouse that was destroyed by fire on the night of February 4, 2021. The County cannot afford to rebuild the courthouse on its own and needs much public support in the way of funding. When the 1909 courthouse was constructed, the cost to build the facility was close to $40,000. The projected cost to rebuild the courthouse today is $20,000,000. The Mason VFW Post 8554 operated a booth during Round-Up Days, July 10, 2021, for the purpose of funding a new “Old Courthouse,” — hopefully, identical to the last one destroyed by fire. Our Post is accepting outside donations which are tax deductible. The Post is a 501(c)(19) so please tag donations to “Courthouse funding” and mail to VFW Post 8554, P.O. Box 164, Mason, TX, 76856.
Officers from VFW 8554 Post in Mason, Texas. L-R: Earl Koch, Trustee; Eli Castillo, Quartermaster; Bill Hight, Commander; Chris Terry; Al Herrington, Trustee; Chris Dyer, Service Officer; and Stephen Kruso, Jr. Vice Commander.
Photo by Jeff Surst
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