Historic Buildings
of Mason County
Buildings, especially homes, might just be my favorite historic record. I use the word "record" specifically because buildings are not just homes and businesses. They change. They evolve. More importantly, these changes can still be seen decades later, and they can tell us more about our community than any written record.
How did property owners protect themselves from the constant threat of floods? How did they protect from fire? How did they heat their home? Was it with coal or wood? How did shop owners conduct business? Was the owner a slave owner or supporter of segregation? Or, was the building part of the Underground Railroad? Small details throughout historic structures can answer all of these questions and more.
There's so many other reasons for saving historic buildings that I could go into, but I'll link an article to the end of this and let you read it if you wish. Suffice it to say that we need to save these buildings before they're gone, and they're going quickly. Just in my lifetime, since 1998, we've lost the Virgil Lewis Home and the Lakin Industrial School for Colored Boys. These were perhaps two of the most important buildings in our county, but both are now gone. This needs to change, but it will take the support of the entire community.
-Chris Rizer, President
How did property owners protect themselves from the constant threat of floods? How did they protect from fire? How did they heat their home? Was it with coal or wood? How did shop owners conduct business? Was the owner a slave owner or supporter of segregation? Or, was the building part of the Underground Railroad? Small details throughout historic structures can answer all of these questions and more.
There's so many other reasons for saving historic buildings that I could go into, but I'll link an article to the end of this and let you read it if you wish. Suffice it to say that we need to save these buildings before they're gone, and they're going quickly. Just in my lifetime, since 1998, we've lost the Virgil Lewis Home and the Lakin Industrial School for Colored Boys. These were perhaps two of the most important buildings in our county, but both are now gone. This needs to change, but it will take the support of the entire community.
-Chris Rizer, President
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