2nd oldest city building to be restored

A group of residents plan to restore the second oldest building in the city and turn the building into a museum, and have a fundraising campaign for the project starting in January.
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the council approved a cooperative endeavor agreement with Save Historic Morgan City Inc. for the city to retain ownership of the Gathright House while allowing Save Historic Morgan City Inc. to maintain the building as a museum.
The Gathright House is located next to the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce on the city’s petting zoo grounds, Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said Tuesday. “It’s been a dream of a group of people to restore that house into as close to its original condition and use it as a historic site,” Grizzaffi said.
The house could be used as a museum, and the city will continue to do minor maintenance at the site, he said.
The agreement gives Save Historic Morgan City Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation, the opportunity to begin with fundraising efforts, Grizzaffi said.
Morgan City resident Deborah Price said preliminary estimates for restoration work to the building are $60,000. “It’s going to take a lot of money because the building is in a horrible state of disrepair right now,” Price said. The group that formed the corporation believes the building is worth saving though, she said.
The Gathright House is the second oldest building in the city and was built prior to 1855, Price said. “It’s been traced back to 1855, and we know that it’s a little bit older than that, but we haven’t been able to trace it back any further,” she said.
The house is the only one left in Morgan City built in its particular style, Price said. “Just from that architectural standpoint as far as housing, it’s worth saving to preserve that architectural history of what was built back here in that time period,” Price said.
The family who owned the house before it was donated to the city in the 1980s was one of the prominent families in the city, the Gathrights, Price said.
Carrie Gathright was one of the first businesswomen in the city and was well-known in the 1930s and 1940s, Price said. “You have that history as well delving into the people that occupied the house,” Price said.
Save Historic Morgan City Inc. has put a lot of time and effort into the proposal and wants to turn the building into a museum that would detail the history of Morgan City, Price said. The house would serve as an educational tool for children to learn about the city’s history while also serving as a tourist destination, she said.
The house was originally located on First Street behind G&J Land & Marine Food Distributors, Price said. The building was donated to the city by the Lind family when the family bought the property to expand G&J, Price said. A group raised more than $20,000 in the 1980s to move the house, re-sided and put into service for the city to be used as a cultural and heritage center, she said.
“It got used for a few things for maybe a couple years, and then the administration just kind of let it die,” Price said. “And it hasn’t been used for anything since then.”
Organizers will begin a fundraising campaign to restore the building in January, Price said. Part of the agreement with the city is that the corporation will manage the fundraising, renovations, management and startup of the museum itself, she said.