An official said a suspect was taken into custody after a major fire that destroyed everything except the outer rock walls of a 111-year-old Texas court
MASON, Texas – A suspect was arrested and taken into custody after a major fire that destroyed everything except the outer stone walls of a 111-year-old Texas court, an official said.
The fire at Mason County Court in Mason, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Austin, started Thursday night. Nobody was in the building. Mason County Judge Jerry Bearden said the flames could be seen for miles around.
“At the moment, it is just a shell,” he told KXAN television station. “It just breaks your heart to look at that.”
He told the Associated Press on Friday that fire investigators suspected arson in court and another fire at the same time in a house about a kilometer away.
The Texas State Fire Department’s Office said in a statement that it had joined law enforcement agencies investigating the fire, but a spokesman did not give details of the investigation on Friday. The county sheriff did not return an AP message.
The court, made of local sandstone, was being prepared for renovations, so all county records have been removed, Bearden said. He said only a few pieces of furniture were in the building.
He said the firefighters “did their best”, but “there was nothing they could really do to contain the flames”.
Bearden said the court’s bell tower, which had a clock, was destroyed.
“It’s a terrible tragedy for people here in the county,” said Bearden. “This is the focal point in our community, our county.”
Bearden said the authorities will have an engineer check the outer walls in hopes of rebuilding the “great old lady”.
Mason County has a population of about 4,300.