Historic Downtown Belton Building & Business Needs Our Help
I'm a lover of history, and there's plenty of it to go around in downtown Belton. One particular historic building in downtown Belton, built in the 1880s, is in dire need of a major (re: expensive) repair.
$14,000 is a lot of money for any business, least of all a local business. Two things struck me about this GoFundMe.com drive for cash. First of all, this is a historic building (more on that below AND at the link above), and second, it's a business for numerous local residents peddling their product. It's not one local business. It's dozens (75 total) of local businesses all located within this building.
The building currently operated by Moore Garrett & Co. (no relation) has served in numerous capacities since being constructed in the 1880s. It's served as everything from a 5-and-dime store to a saloon and even a casket-building business over the years. The plans for the design of Ft. Hood (Camp Hood at the time) were created in the building. The history is there, but the future is less of a sure thing thanks to a broken A/C that'll run up to $10,000 to repair.
There's a lot of history in this building, and although there was no air conditioning (or electricity) at the time, it's something we can't live without in 2015. Although I have no dog in this fight, I genuinely feel like I'm part of a community for the first time. I grew up as an Air Force brat, which meant a move every three years. I never felt attached to a community like I do with Belton and all of Central Texas. I just want to make sure a local business stays local and doesn't sell to a dollar store like you see in downtown Temple.