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Fulton Mansion preparing for new beginning

Posted at 4:51 PM, Sep 05, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-05 19:37:21-04

The Fulton Mansion State Historic Site, a popular destination in Rockport-Fulton, is seeing new signs of life after suffering significant damage from Hurricane Harvey.

Staff were hard at work over the summer staging the basement of the mansion, which is now open for visitors.

The roof of the mansion still needs to be repaired and many of the furnishings still need to be returned, but the staff and the mansion are preparing for a new beginning.

“To see the people come through and the smiles on their face because a lot of them had been here before,” said Sterling Heller, a Mansion volunteer and tour guide for 20 years. “I was ecstatic when it came back.”

Some guests say the basement is one of their favorite parts of the mansion. Visitors can step back into the late 1800s, see how laundry was done back then, how the kitchen was set up, and how there were dedicated rooms to store water.

“So far, it’s amazing,” said Tomy Sikes, a visitor from Missouri. “I wanted to see the basement and the cooling systems, and what they had down in the bottom of it.”

Mansion visitors are also excited about the completion of the basement because it gives them an idea of what is to come later in the fall. Staff hopes to finish staging the rest of the mansion in the next several months.

“It’s breathtaking,” said Lisa Hernandez, a visitor from Katy. “But once this is all restored, I’m looking forward to it. I want to come back. I plan on it.”

The Mansion is also hosting events including a lecture series on Sept. 13. Click here for more information.