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Historic Curtis Mansion to undergo restoration

Posted at 5:50 PM, Sep 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-07 18:58:56-04

The Curtis Mansion in Belton is a piece of history, known not only for its owner who was rich from good cotton years but also as a "Monument to King Cotton."

The Curtis Mansion has occupied the corner of 10th and Main street on the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor campus since 1902 and was given its historical marker in 1977.

"A lot have thought that the home belonged to Mary Hardin-Baylor for many years because it's so close to our campus," Senior Vice President for Administration and Chief Operating Officer Steve Theodore said. 

The mansion had a list of owners before the university took hold of it, including cotton broker William Miller, the Curtis family and Richard and Pat Dale.

Richard and Pat met in 1982 and married on the front porch of the mansion in 1983, they then called the mansion their home for the next 32 years.

"It was just a thing in your life that you can't ever express how much fun it was, it has a place in my heart that will never fill," Pat said.

Richard Dale suffered a head injury after living in the home for several years, which is why Pat sold it to UMHB in 2015.

"It was just the upkeep that I couldn't deal with anymore and I didn't know how to deal with it," Pat said.

The mansion has sat untouched for the last three years, but Theodore said that's changing.

"The average person won't be able to tell that we have changed anything about the house. We are just concentrating on the exterior of the building. We want to protect it from any water getting in, re-do the from the porch and the roof needs to be replaced. So we are going to take care of things like that," Theodore said.

Pat said with the loss of her husband almost a year ago, she's glad to see their memories come back to life.

"It was a wonderful part of my life to spend there with the man that I love dearly and I just hope the university enjoys it as much as I did," Pat said.

University officials said the restorations should be finished within the next two months.

They also said once they decide what the home will be used for, they will begin fixing up the inside.

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