St Augustine's Restoration, Austin, NV

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St Augustine's Restoration

Below you will find a reports on each of our major projects.

Austin is a small mountain town of under 300 people and limited resources. We treasure our historic sites though, and fortunately a hard working core of local volunteers are putting out tremendous efforts to preserve the precious history of Austin, and of Nevada.

St. Augustine's has been saved from certain ruin by these efforts, funded by grants from the Nevada Commission for Cultural Affairs. We look forward to the day you can attend conferences or performances in our beautiful facility!

Visit the Austin Museum next time you come our way! There is a link to the Austin Historical Society on our Links page.

2005	Working off a grant from the Nevada Commission on Cultural Affairs, Preservation Historian Dan Pezzoni was commissioned to report on the history, current condition, and future restoration/renovation of St. Augustine's. Mr. Pezzoni remains as a consultant to ensure all work done on the structure is appropriate and within the Secretary of the Interior Standards. Dan researched and authored the original report to the National Register of Historic Places which resulted in St. Augustine's being listed on that prestigious list. >>>Click for the National Register Report. >>>Click here for Dan's 2005 report.
2006	The stone retaining wall holding up the front courtyard was deteriorating to the point that the spire and entrance to the church were in danger of being undermined. Another CCA Grant enabled us to build a new wall. Chuck Bispo, local stone mason who builds dry-stack walls using the same methods as those used in early Austin (1860s), constructed the new wall over a two year period. *Click here for the full story with pictures.*
2007	An incredible, and as it turned out, just in the nick of time project was the roof reconstruction. The magnitude of the work was overwhelming, but nothing compared to the urgency. As we soon found out, the entire roof was nearing the point of full collapse. Again, the Nevada Commission on Cultural Affairs came through and literally saved this treasure. *Click here for the full story with pictures.*
2008	This project was completed in 2009. It finished site work on the north side of the church, the courtyard, and reconstructed the front entrance, incorporating ADA design.
2009	This project is slated for construction in the summer and fall of 2010. We believe that we have enough funding to remove all the windows of the church and restore them to weather-tight, operating condition. Doors are also in the plan, pending availablity of funds.