CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Fulton Mansion Museum in Rockport is open once again. The house is an integral part of the city’s history.
After being closed for nearly two and a half years for renovations, it reopened for tours this past weekend, just in time for the holiday season.
After Harvey’s devastating blow to the Texas Gulf Coast in August 2017, the Fulton Mansion, which has withstood 8 hurricanes, experienced significant damage.
“It peeled back the flat roof; we lost our chimneys; water poured in, and there was substantial damage to our plaster walls and the carpet, and unfortunately, some parts of the collection,” said Fulton Mansion Site Manager Jacqui Ainlay-Conley.
A complex restoration project required the mansion to be closed for slightly more than two years.
“So for the last two years the Texas Historical Commission has been restoring the structure, conserving artifacts, and we have been able to move the collections and items back into the mansion, ”said Ainlay-Conley.
The cost to restore the mansion George and Harriet Fulton built in 1877 was close to a $1 million.
“We are still figuring out the numbers, but it is close to a million dollars to restore the mansion and to conserve collections. The Federal Emergency Management Agency covered most of that million dollars. The restoration effort received significant private donations from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service, Humanities Texas and the San Antonio Conservation Society, and lots of local contributors,” said Ainlay-Conley.
The historic Fulton Mansion that opened to the public in 1983 has been a staple, not only in Aransas County, but the Coastal Bend as well.
“In addition to the pride factor the community has, the Fulton Mansion is an economic driver in this area; tourism is a really important industry. We have our birding, we have our fishing, and now we have the Fulton Mansion back up and running,” said Ainlay-Conley.
The Fulton Mansion State Historic Site is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays through Sundays, and the first Thursday of every month from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Admission fees are $7 for adults 18 and over; $6 for seniors 65 and over; $4 for children ages 6 – 17. Children age five and under can enter for free.
For more information about Fulton Mansion visitvisitfultonmansion.com
