A $25,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative will help the Fayetteville Community Foundation upgrade the electrical wiring and water fixtures at the Fayetteville Area Heritage Museum.

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $7,000 in matching funds, will help replace unsafe electrical wiring, install LED lighting and update water fixtures throughout the museum. The Fayetteville Area Heritage Museum, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was once occupied by Fayetteville's first post office.

“The electrical wiring was installed in the ‘70s and is in dire need of repairs,” said Ronald Pflughaupt, president of the Fayetteville Community Foundation. “The grant will make the building safe for the community to visit and bring the structure up to code for years into the future. Lots of history of the Fayetteville area is archived in the museum.”

The museum houses irreplaceable collections and exhibits documenting the Fayetteville area and its early settlers. Its archival programs include acquisitions, preservation, research and an oral history collection. The museum also offers educational programs, permanent and rotating exhibits, demonstrations, reenactments and genealogy.

Serving a population area of about 4,000 people, the museum attracts visitors from all over Fayette County and Central Texas. The museum is available for school field trips, family reunions, bus tours and community meetings. It also serves as a resource for people who are home bound, and provides computer and internet access and training, as well as access to museum databases.

“Without this grant we would not be able to keep the museum open to the public and would definitely not be able to archive any items that will be presented to the museum in the future,” Pflughaupt said.

The community grant is one of 27 grants awarded recently through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.