BAYSIDE, Texas — An important historical marker in Bayside, Texas, is getting a new lease on life. Thanks to some passionate citizens and two brothers from San Antonio, a $250,000 grant has been secured through the Texas Historical Commission to help restore the famous Wood Mansion.
However, it's a project that will take much more to complete.
"Bayside Strong" -- a resilient message proudly displayed on top of the Wood Mansion overlooking Copano Bay. Some call the home the heart of the community.
"Personally, I consider it the Alamo of Bayside," Tim Delaney said.
Delaney, who is the chairman of the Bayside Historical Society gave 3News a history lesson on the house, which was built in 1875 by John Howland Wood.
"He was originally from New York and ran a big cattle operation here, and this house was the center of his ranch," Delaney said.
The Wood Mansion is one of the oldest known homes in Refugio County. In fact, it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A marker outside helps tell the story of its colorful past. The structure has served several purposes, including a hotel, and has changed owners; but for the last several years the property has sat empty -- falling apart and vandalized.
And then there was Hurricane Harvey.
"The intensity was four hours of 140 miles per hour winds. Did a lot of damage, and might have killed this town because 22 families moved away," Delaney said.
Broken and battered, the home was still there.
Jon Breeden and his brother Noah from San Antonio fell in love with the home's history and ended up buying it.
"Once I saw all of that, I knew I wanted to do something," Jon said.
"It was my crazy brother's idea," Noah said. "He told me about it. It sounded like a great opportunity. He's been in restoring and finishing up homes for quite some time."
The brothers hope to restore the structure to its former glory.
"We have long leaf pine throughout the home," Jon said. "We have numbers from the original hotel, when it was a hotel in the early 20s."
They took 3News on a tour inside and laid out their vision.
"You see a lot of damage throughout, but there really are some jewels throughout the property," Jon said.
At 150 years old, they know the home will require a lot of work, but they said it is worth the risk.
"We want to save every brick and recreate that history, a forgotten piece of history. People know about other historic homes in this area. This home has been privately owned for the last 50 years, and not public accessable, we want to change that."
They hope to turn the downstairs into a museum and the upstairs into an Air B&B. They are also getting a helping hand in the form of a $250,000 grant from the National Park Service -- money that is supposed to help preserve historic homes impacted by Harvey.
Still, the brothers know it will take much more. It is estimated that the restoration will cost $2 million.
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