Heritage House Renovation Becomes a Reality

Written by: Georgia Godfrey

As a broad-scope effort to increase involvement in local communities, Texas Tech University’s College of Human Sciences announced the renovation of the Little Grabor/Heritage House in Post.

The college will spearhead the effort to preserve this historical property in West Texas, developing an adaptive reuse plan for properties, increasing historical value and to help meeting the local needs of the community.

"The College of Human Sciences is grateful for the opportunity to join with the Post community and rebuild part of the town’s history," said Linda Hoover, dean of the College of Human Sciences. "With this project, we will use our design expertise to provide Post a ‘living room’ which will bring people together for years to come."

The Caprock Cultural Association and the College of Human Sciences will ensure that the re-design emulates the American bungalow style of 1911 as established by C.W. Post, the founder of Post Cereals and Post, Texas. With the recent 100th anniversary of the founding of Post, the facility renovations will serve as a research center for personal pioneer histories, and will also contain a conference center, meeting rooms and office space for local associations. The groundbreaking for construction was held on Nov. 2.

"It is a great honor to be able to give back to the community that means so much to me personally," said Don Collier, assistant professor for interior design. "I always wanted to come home and this renovation project has been the perfect opportunity to reconnect with my roots."

The Heritage House, originally a two-story building, was built to house the nursing and medical staff for the hospital that was next door. Built and operated by the Double U Company under the direction of C.W. Post, the House operated as a boarding house until 2002. The facility was then donated to the Garza County Cultural Association to be used in conjunction with the Garza County Historical Museum, located next door.

This project was funded by the Maxine Durrett Earl Charitable Foundation Inc.; The Brown Foundation, Inc; The Ershel A. Franklin Charitable Trust; and personal donations from the community. Also involved are Daniel Duane McQueen Architects, Sunwest Construction Inc. and Alon Kvashny, chairperson of the Landscape Architecture Academic Department at Texas Tech.

The Department of Design encompasses the fields of apparel design, interior design and environmental design and strives to contribute to new knowledge in these areas through design education, research and community outreach.

CONTACT: Georgia Godfrey, coordinator for college development and external relations, College of Human Sciences, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-3263, or georgia.godfrey@ttu.edu.