The Brown County Museum of History will install new LED lighting throughout its facility, thanks to a Community Development Partnership Program grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority.
The $18,466 grant, along with $6,156 in matching funds, will provide improved and energy-efficient lighting for the museum’s 8,000-square-foot main building, which provides space for exhibits, community meetings, school tours and other programs.
“Our museum is a place where everyone can come together to discover the diversity of our heritage,” said Beverly Norris, museum board vice president. “This grant will positively help our impact in the community.”
New lighting will make evening events possible and create bright spaces for hands-on activities, reading and learning. It also will provide adequate lighting for the museum’s ongoing restoration work, which currently includes a World War II mural painted in 1943 by German prisoners of war. The artist now has to rely on a lamp to see to mix and apply paints correctly.
More than 3,000 people a year visit the museum, which provides residents of Brown County and surrounding communities access to cultural and educational programs. In addition, community groups such as Leadership Brownwood and the Penateka Native American committee also use the museum as a meeting spot.
“This project was tremendously needed and thanks to LCRA, visiting the Museum of History will be an even richer experience for everyone,” Norris said. “We are very appreciative of the LCRA for this grant.”
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.
Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in January. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.