Grant helps Firehouse Rescue Project
Linden’s Old Firehouse Rescue Project got a boost recently by way of a $9,750 grant from the Hart Family for Small Towns, which is associated with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The rescue project is an effort by the Linden Heritage Foundation and others to save the town’s 1936 fire station which had been vacated and fallen into disuse, said Heritage Foundation leader Joe B. Lovelace.
The money will aid the rescue project by funding plans and specifications, which include: location of historic photos restoring the building to U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for historic preservation
giving the building a commercial user to further Linden revitalization goals
create a heritage asset out of the present eyesore
“Organizations like the Linden Heritage Foundation help ensure that communities across America retain their unique sense of place. We are honored to provide a grant to the Linden Heritage Foundation to help preserve an important piece of our shared national heritage” said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Old Linden Firehouse Project needs photos of any part of the building taken between 1939 and 1965, even ones that show only a piece of the building. Photos from the Rush Street facade on the south are prized since it’s the “front” of the building. Research indicates the firehouse originally had just a single fire truck door, so the pair of doors seen here today may not appear on older photos.
Earlier, the Linden Heritage Foundation’s Firehouse Rescue Project received a $1,000 planning grant from the Texas Historical Foundation.
In 1935, when Linden was a town of 900, the city owned a single fire engine bought that year and kept in a rented facility. This was until the fire station could be built in 1939. Its volunteer firemen had a sleeping room upstairs.
The Linden Heritage Foundation was formed in September 2015, to encourage preservation of historic structures, sites, objects and customs related to Linden.
The foundation’s first project was to assist in saving the historic Linden water tower built by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., in 1934 in a celebrated “Horton Tank” design. The tower had also been constructed under a Works Progress Administration with leadership and assistance given by the late U.S. Rep. Wright Patman.
“Many of these beautifully engineered towers gave way long ago to larger tanks, but a few are still standing and have won historic recognition on state and national registers,” said a spokesperson for the foundation.
In 2015, citizens rallied around a proposal to save the water tower scheduled for take down that year. The tower then underwent an independent engineering study to assess its structural stability, recommend repairs and cost options.
The foundation may be contacted by calling Lovelace at 512-799-6294 or Sue Lazara at 903-490-6321.