Demolition nears for burned west side of Gatesville courthouse square

The burned west side of the Gatesville courthouse square is finally moving from a long cleanup phase to demolition, and the first wrecking work is expected to begin with the block that includes A Freedom Bail Bonds and The Gatesville Messenger. City Manager Brad Hunt said city officials have been meeting bi-weekly with property owners as they work through the permits, asbestos controls and access issues needed before crews can start.

The fire that set this in motion broke out about 6:50 p.m. Monday, March 16, on the southwest corner of the square near the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office. It burned into the morning of Tuesday, March 17, and the scene was still smoldering as late as March 24. The blaze destroyed or badly damaged Leaird’s Furniture, A Freedom Bail Bonds, The Gatesville Messenger and Davidson Chiropractic, leaving rubble, blackened walls and twisted steel beams in the middle of downtown Gatesville for months.

The cleanup is not a simple teardown. Hunt said asbestos in some of the buildings means the job must be handled as a wet demolition, with water used to control dust and air quality. Each property owner will pay for demolition on their own building, and the city will not choose the contractor. Crews also will need state permits, city demolition permits and water-meter access from nearby hydrants, while runoff and debris disposal will have to follow state rules. Hunt said landfill options may include Temple or Itasca.

If the schedule holds, work on the A Freedom Bail Bonds building and The Gatesville Messenger structure could begin June 15 and wrap by July 1. Leaird’s demolition would follow after July 4 or in mid-July, depending on how the rest of the project moves. That means the west side of the square will stay disrupted for weeks longer, with closures, noise and hauling traffic continuing while crews handle unstable walls and remove debris.

The stakes run beyond the block itself. Coryell County Judge Roger A. Miller signed a local disaster declaration on March 17, and the county later extended it because recovery operations were still straining county and city resources. The Gatesville Downtown Historic District was also listed in the National Register of Historic Places in March 2026, covering 12 blocks and 87 resources. With the courthouse, built in 1897-98, still at the center of the square, demolition now marks the first real step toward deciding whether the heart of downtown Gatesville can be rebuilt quickly or whether the fire’s aftermath will keep shaping the square for months more.