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A
Blow to Historic Preservation in Texas
Scurry County: Fire
on the Snyder Town Square
Photos
by Charlene Beauchamp and Christopher Kelly
Text from various reports
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| Other
than a tornado, the worst fate that can hit a small town is fire, especially when
it occurs on the town square where the town's most important businesses stand
right up against one another - in many cases sharing common walls. |
 | The
west side of the square before the fire
Photo Courtesy Charlene Beatty
Beauchamp |
| Rubble
hauled from the site Photo Courtesy Christopher Kelly |
The
most recent of courthouse square fires occurred late last month (Feb. 2003) in
the West Texas town of Snyder - the county seat of Scurry County.
Alert
citizen Cindy Gill noticed smoke in the window of the building just after 8 p.m.
and called it in.
The fire department arrived in minutes, but unfortunately
the entire upstairs was engulfed and the 1905 building collapsed - a total loss
in less than a half-hour. Fire departments from the neighboring towns of Sweetwater,
Colorado City, Roscoe and Lorraine responded, and together they succeeded in preventing
the blaze from spreading. |
| Snyder's
landmark White Buffalo guards firefighter's food and water
Photo Courtesy
Christopher Kelly |
In recent
years the towns of Luling, La Grange, Georgetown and Newton have suffered fires.
In Newton's case it practically destroyed the Newton County courthouse. In addition
San Antonio suffered the collapse of a historic façade in the downtown area in
the fall of 2002.
March 2003 | |
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