Laura Sergeant’s Photos of Downtown Linden

~ lindenheritage ~ 5 Comments

Laura Sergeant graciously offered the Foundation use of photographs of downtown Linden that she took in June of 2016.  Her comments about the images follow.

“I chose to use black and white images because they highlighted the simple geometry of the structures.  The Texas sky presents each structure at its powerful best.  The buildings on the square, as well as the water tower, stand guard as the Cass County Courthouse reigns elegantly, awaiting its guests.”

East face of Cass County Courthouse
East face of Cass County Courthouse
Storefronts on north side of Courthouse Square looking west along sidewalk
Storefronts north of Courthouse Square looking west along sidewalk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

South face of 1934 Water Tower and adjacent 1939 Firehouse
South face of temporarily shrouded 1939 Firehouse and adjacent 1934 water tower
East step of Cass County Courthouse looking west
North steps of Cass County Courthouse looking west toward Davis Drug building

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Former Allen Bros. Women's storefront on north side of Linden's Public Square, with beautifully restored display windows and transoms made of sinker cypress.
Former Allen Bros. Women’s storefront on north side of Linden’s Public Square, with beautifully restored display window and transom frames made of durable sinker cypress
DavisDrug
Davis Drug building (right) built in 1916 and Linden City Hall (center) which was built in 1914 as The First National Bank of Linden

 

 

 

 

 

 

View of Cass County Courthouse from the northeast with Linden’s 1934 historic water tower in background
View of Cass County Courthouse from the northeast with Linden’s 1934 historic water tower in background
View of Linden's 1934 water tank from south side of pump house located under the tower.
View of Linden’s 1934 water tank from south side of pump house located under the tower

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Images are the property of Laura Sergeant and may not be reused without her permission via ContactUs@LindenHeritage.org.

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Preservation Texas Regional Meeting in Marshall Focused on Saving Historic Railroad Sites and Structure

~ lindenheritage

PreservatinTexasLogoCroppedPreservation Texas has scheduled their 2016 East Texas Regional Meeting in Marshall, Texas on August 11.  A full day of sessions will be focused on saving historic railroad sites and structures.  More information is available at http://www.preservationtexas.org/marshall2016/.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Sue Morris Lazara at sue.lazara@lindenheritage.org.

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Walmart Community Grant Program Donates to Firehouse Rescue Fund

~ lindenheritage ~ 1 Comment

WalMart_CheckPresentation

Melinda Winton (left), Manager of Walmart SuperCenter in Atlanta, Texas, presented a $1,000 donation from the Walmart Community Grant Program to the Linden Heritage Foundation’s 1939 Firehouse Rescue Fund on June 3, 2016.  Jana C. Bounds (middle) and Charlotte Wells (right) accepted the check on behalf of the Linden Heritage Foundation.   Photograph courtesy of Jo Anna Duncan’s Front Porch Treasures Studio on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FrontPorchTreasuresStudio.

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Bob Swisher’s “Linden Update” for June 2016

~ Joe Lovelace ~ 1 Comment

Linden City Administrator, Bob Swisher, gave the Linden Heritage Foundation permission to republish his June 2016 Linden Update.  Information which may be of special interest to Foundation members has been highlighted.

“Linden has made some strides in May!  First of all the City Council unanimously passed the resolution to apply for the “Texas Main Street” program.  The program is designed to revitalize the historic downtown commercial area.  We will put together a first rate package and hope that the Texas Historical Commission sees what a gem Linden really is.  You will hear rumors about mandates and requirements, this is a voluntary program for downtown business owners.  It comes with free architectural and design assistance for the front of the building.  The person that will manage the program will also help with events and event planning.

“LINDEN 2025” is the 10 year plan for the City of Linden. It touches on everything from child care to sewer, water and streets. There will soon be a copy on the Linden Texas Facebook page and the Linden website for you to read. We are already engaging in areas that the LINDEN 2025 plan recommended. We have a new police station opening the first of June and are having fiber optic cable brought to the City Hall and new Police station. Fiber optic lines will transmit data at the speed of light,
much faster than copper wire and are buried to ensure function. As Linden businesses grow, they will demand this level of internet capability and we will be ready.

With a great amount of assistance from the Linden Heritage Foundation the City council approved a package to be sent out to request proposals to use the water tower and old fire station for commercial ventures. They are both historic and could lend themselves to an economic enterprise of some sort.  We will wait to see what kind of proposals we get. Expect to hear more on this in the fall.

We are asking people to please monitor the amounts of grease you allow to go into the sewer. Most of our sewer blockages are caused by household cooking grease building up in sewer pipes. Often it will collect on small roots or debris and cause backups. Several people commented on how many blockages there are during the holidays, when we are cooking turkeys and large meals. Please pour the grease in a container let it cool and place it in the garbage. We could reduce man hours by 10% to 20% if we could get more cooperation from residents on this one item.

Last, but not least, the Linden Volunteer Fire Department has started the process to place on this Novembers Ballot an initiative to create an Emergency Services District. This would mean that everyone within the response district would be taxed to help upgrade the Fire Department. The plus side of this would be that all would share the cost of the Fire Department and the additional funds  would be used for upgrades to equipment that would save you money on your home insurance. We are currently an ISO 7, Atlanta is an ISO 3. If we can get to an ISO 3 it would save a homeowner with a $100,000 house approximately $200 a year. The new tax would only be $100 on that house. More importantly we would have an increased capability when it came to saving lives and fighting wild fires, which we all know is one of our major threats.

Bob Swisher, Linden City Administrator”

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Texas Main Street Application Assignments Made

~ lindenheritage
Magnolia Service Station owned and operated by J. J. Eller. Mid-1930s photos from the collection of Charline Wiley Morris.
Magnolia Service Station owned and operated by J. J. Eller. Mid-1930s photo from the collection of Charline Wiley Morris. Click on photo to enlarge image.

Linden City Administrator, Bob Swisher, has assembled the following group to prepare the City’s application for the 2017 Texas Main Street Program.

  • Clarence Burns – Criteria 5: Demonstrated need
  • Mary Dowd – Criteria 2: Community and private sector support and organizational capacity; Overall Editor
  • Emily Henderson – Criteria 4: Physical capacity
  • Sue Lazara – Criteria 1:  Historic commercial fabric and historic identity; Photos and descriptions
  • Kay Stephens – Criteria 1:  Historic commercial fabric and historic identity
  • Bob Swisher – Criteria 3, Public sector support and financial capacity; Timeline; Committee Chair

The Committee met on Tuesday, May 24th, at City Hall to discuss the application process, tasks, and duties.  The application is due at the Texas Historical Commission in Austin on or before July 29, 2016.