With the creation of a Beautification Committee, residents in the small town of Throckmorton are starting to see big improvements. Over the past 5 years, more than $5 million has been raised to improve sidewalks, the downtown area, and eventually the court house. The committee is adopting the folksy philosophy: "no rouge on a hog". So rather than wasting time and money on slapping some paint on rundown buildings and patching worn out streets, they're doing a major overhaul.
Every morning the sounds of saws and drills can be heard throughout Throckmorton, a small town population just over 800.
"The community has been very supportive, both with their ideas, labor and money and it's been a wonderful thing for the entire town," said Trent McKnight of Throckmorton Beautification President.
With the help of state and private funding Throckmorton has been able to raise $5.5 million in order to help beautify this city. Their first priority: Using the money to improve sidewalks and the facades of Throckmorton's downtown. Wednesday afternoon, windows were installed in the old 1928 silent movie theater. In the process of restoring this old theater, they've unearthed pieces of history.
"When we first came in 4-5 years ago to gut the building we found lots of old rolls, film rolls, the original projector, the original popcorn machine and soda fountain, and we plan to put those into front portion which will be a little museum," said McKnight.
The city's newest project, updating the courthouse will begin within the next six months.
"It's given us a good face lift, we have people coming from out of town they are curious about what we are doing, they are enjoying seeing our new courthouse and want to know more about what we are going to do," said Mary Walraven, County and District Clerk.
And it's because of these upgrades, this old agriculture and energy town is seeing improvements in its economy. It's estimated the courthouse project will cost $3 million. The Beautification Committee hopes to have the funds within the next 10 years or so to begin construction on the inside of the downtown buildings.
Every morning the sounds of saws and drills can be heard throughout Throckmorton, a small town population just over 800.
"The community has been very supportive, both with their ideas, labor and money and it's been a wonderful thing for the entire town," said Trent McKnight of Throckmorton Beautification President.
With the help of state and private funding Throckmorton has been able to raise $5.5 million in order to help beautify this city. Their first priority: Using the money to improve sidewalks and the facades of Throckmorton's downtown. Wednesday afternoon, windows were installed in the old 1928 silent movie theater. In the process of restoring this old theater, they've unearthed pieces of history.
"When we first came in 4-5 years ago to gut the building we found lots of old rolls, film rolls, the original projector, the original popcorn machine and soda fountain, and we plan to put those into front portion which will be a little museum," said McKnight.
The city's newest project, updating the courthouse will begin within the next six months.
"It's given us a good face lift, we have people coming from out of town they are curious about what we are doing, they are enjoying seeing our new courthouse and want to know more about what we are going to do," said Mary Walraven, County and District Clerk.
And it's because of these upgrades, this old agriculture and energy town is seeing improvements in its economy. It's estimated the courthouse project will cost $3 million. The Beautification Committee hopes to have the funds within the next 10 years or so to begin construction on the inside of the downtown buildings.
