TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — Nearly a year to the date after a fire destroyed a historic landmark in Taylor, Texas, the organization in charge of it announced that it received a grant to help rebuild.
The home of civil rights advocate Dr. James Lee Dickey burned down on July 10 last year. Dickey was a physician and civil rights advocate in Taylor. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
The Dickey Museum & Multipurpose Center announced Wednesday that the St. David’s Foundation awarded a grant of $500,000 to help with the construction of a replica of Dickey’s former home.
According to a release from the museum, Preservation Texas, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization committed to supporting historic preservation activities statewide, was invited by the foundation to serve as the fiscal sponsor for the grant award.
Preservation Texas is working to secure new sources of funding while overseeing design and construction of the new building, according to the release.
“The Dickey House will serve as a community resource wellness center,” said Jennifer Harris, board president of the Dickey Museum & Multipurpose Center. “Dickey House will impact community well-being by connecting underserved and underrepresented residents to needed referrals and follow-ups for medical care and social services that improve health outcomes.”
Dickey, who died in 1959, was the only African-American doctor in Taylor when he settled there after serving in World War I to help his widowed mother raise his siblings, according to the historical marker.
Some of Dickey’s local efforts included addressing Taylor’s public health needs, improving water supply, admitting African American patients to state tubercular clinics, leading an effort against a typhoid fever outbreak, working for school bond passage and heading efforts for local recreation facilities and federal housing, according to the city.
“Our plan is to complete the reconstruction of Dickey House in time for a community celebration coinciding with Juneteenth in 2024,” Harris said.
#Grant #Dickey #Museum #rebuild #home #civil #rights #advocate #year #devastating #fire
