The process is long and expensive, but it's worth it in the end. Mason County's courthouse was in the midst of renovation when an arsonist targeted the building.  See, really bad things happen sometimes during a renovation. 

In Mason County's case, they had already engaged engineering and preservation experts to start their renovation.  The prep turned out to be fortuitous when the building burned down in 2021.  Court records, which are a crucial part of restoration, had already been removed by the time the fire started.  The Texas Historical Commission requires a full inventory of ALL records housed in a country courthouse before renovation even begins.  As much of a headache following the requirements of the grant program can be, this turned out to be a lifesaving effort for Mason County.  

Not only were the records safely away from the building, officials had an up to date list of what records they had, and if any were damaged or missing, the inventory made things much easier for officials to get a handle on the issue.  

Of course, the other issue after the fire was getting back on track for the restoration.  By the Spring of 2023, a new cupola replaced the original fire damaged one. The timeline for restoring the building was a pretty long one, as every county in Texas will discover sooner or later.  By July of 2024, the Mason County Courthouse reopened to the public. 

Even following unforeseen and tragic events, there's a path to restoring history.