MASON, Texas – A suspect was arrested after a massive fire that destroyed all of the outer rock walls of a 111-year-old Texas courthouse, an official says.
The fire at the Mason County Courthouse in Mason, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Austin, started Thursday night. No one was in the building. Mason County Judge Jerry Bearden said the flames could be seen from miles away.
“Right now, it’s just a shell,” he told KXAN television station. It just breaks your heart to look at it.
He told The Associated Press on Friday that fire investigators suspect that an arson occurred in both the courthouse fire and another fire at the same time at a home a mile away.
The Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office said in a statement that it has joined law enforcement agencies investigating the fire, but a spokesperson did not provide details about the investigation on Friday. The county sheriff has not returned a message from the AP.
The courthouse, made of local sandstone, was preparing for renovations, so all county records had been removed, Bearden said. He said there was only some furniture in the building.
He said firefighters “did their best” but “there was nothing they could really do to contain the flames.”
Bearden said the courthouse bell tower, which featured a clock, was destroyed.
“It is a terrible tragedy for the people here in the county,” Bearden said. “This is the focal point in our community, our county.”
Bearden said officials will have an engineer check the exterior walls in hopes of eventually rebuilding the “great old woman.”
Mason County has a population of approximately 4,300.
–
