Copperas Cove Historical Society seeks support for heritage center

By BRITTANY FHOLER

Cove Leader-Press

The Copperas Cove Historical Society held its monthly meeting Wednesday evening at the Copperas Cove Public Library, and announced that although the group has been discussing plans for the Allin House, home of the first mayor of Copperas Cove, it has learned that someone else has offered to purchase the property from the city. 

The society’s president, Joyce Hauk, and secretary, John Gallen, recently had a meeting with City Manager Ryan Haverlah and Parks and Recreation Director Jeff Stoddard to discuss the Allin House and the organization’s goals for the property. 

Hauk said they were informed at that time by Haverlah that someone had offered to purchase the Allin House just two days prior to their meeting. 

However, Gallen said that that he and Hauk provided a draft memorandum to the city officials, to give them an idea of the society’s plans for the property. He added that some of the city council members have expressed their support for the Historical Society’s goals. 

Hauk encouraged people to send in letters to the council members to support the Historical Society as well.

Allin House, home of the city’s first mayor, Jouett Allin, and his wife, Emma Barker Allin. Allin became the mayor of Copperas Cove when it was first incorporated in 1913, and the house at 401 N. Main St was built the same year on land that Emma inherited from her mother. The house was designed by architect H. D. Pampel of Temple, and it was eventually purchased by the city in 1986.  

The property has been listed for sale by the city for several years after the council decided to put it and several other properties on the sales block. At last week’s Copperas Cove City council meeting, the council met with the city attorney in executive session to discuss the property.

The Copperas Cove Historical Society had initially thought to turn Allin House into a historical museum, but after realizing the effort that a museum would require, especially with the accumulation and preservation of artifacts, the Historical Society shifted its goals toward opening a Heritage Center instead and display some articles and have videos for visitors to view.  

The Historical Society secured three display cases from the former Beall’s location in the Cove Terrace Shopping Center. The three glass display cases have been moved to the Allin House temporarily. 

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the Historical Society gave a brief update of the organization’s status as a 501c3 non-profit. The organization has been recognized by the state as an official 501c3, but is still waiting to hear back from the IRS regarding the application for 501c3 non-profit status.

Also at the meeting, Bob Crouch, with the National Mounted Warfare Foundation, gave a presentation on the National Mounted Warrior Museum, which will be located just outside the gates of Fort Hood, near the Martin Leath Visitors Center. The museum project has a total cost of $38 million and will be located on 17-acres of land donated by the U.S. Army. The museum will tell the history of American mounted combat and the stories of soldiers in these units like 1st CAV Division and the 3rd CAV Regiment at Fort Hood. A groundbreaking was held in November 2020, and the first phase of construction is underway, with an expected completion date of October 2021. 

At the end of the meeting, members and guests gathered around Maisie Duncan, a Museum Specialist with Fort Hood Museums and a member of the Copperas Cove Historical Society, who showed off a lace wedding dress from the 1920s, believed to be connected to the Clements family. 

The dress had been donated to the Historical Society by the Copperas Cove Independent School District. The dress was prepared with tissue paper in a large dress box to help with the preservation. 

The Copperas Cove Historical Society currently has 18 members who have paid dues. Membership dues are $100 for the lifetime membership or $20 per year for individuals and $10 per year for students, ages 17 and under. 

The Copperas Cove Historical Society meets the second Wednesday of every month, at 6 p.m., in the meeting room at the Copperas Cove Public Library. The next meeting is scheduled for May 12.