MCKINNEY, Texas — The old western town at Storybook Ranch in McKinney has served the community for more than two decades as a place for gatherings and social events.
The historic little town is a compilation of real buildings from the 1800s, including the church, saloon, and hotel and opry house. Now most of those buildings are boarded up to keep vandals from entering and destroying the insides.
"These captured my heart," said Kristi Avalos of the non-profit Bethel Village Foundation. Avalos started the nonprofit to save the old western town from being bulldozed after developers bought the land to build homes.
Avalos has been notified that she can have all its buildings if she can move them from the property. The cost of moving the historic buildings runs about $800,000. Efforts to raise the money are currently under way.
But in the last 10 days, an unforeseen development could make the move a little bit harder. Vandals have broken in and taken full liberties at the hotel and opry house.
"It's not a prank, it's not fun, and it's not acceptable," said Don Flanary, attorney for River Ranch Educational Charities Incorporated, an equine-based non-profit that gives underprivileged communities opportunities not often available.
River Ranch once ran programs out of the buildings but Flanary told WFAA that they have not been used since 2017.
Flanary gave WFAA a tour of the destruction, mostly inside the hotel. He said other buildings have also sustained damage from vandals, likely within the last 10 days. There is shattered glass through out the grounds, broken furniture, and a torn up grand chandelier.
"It makes me more motivated to move it. We've got to get it out of here," said Avalos.
On the second floor derogatory language that includes hate speech and hate symbols has been spray-painted all over the walls.
"This is shameful and not what I expect from the community I live in and love," said Don.
Flanary and the nonprofit has reached out the to the McKinney Police Department to investigate. Flanary told WFAA that he believes eight to nine juveniles may be involved in the vandalism. He estimates the damage to be close to $200,000.
"They reported that the last two nights, juveniles had caused extensive damage to the property. On one of those nights, an employee who lives on the property says he confronted several suspects and was able to identify some of them, although he did not call 9-1-1 that night," read a brief statement from McKinney Police.
The McKinney Police Department said their investigation is ongoing. Flanary is hopeful someone will come forward so the right people can be held accountable.
For Avalos, this is an unnecessary distraction to the task at hand: moving the buildings to save the town.
Avalos told WFAA that the deadline to move the little town is a moving target. She said it's likely that the town will have to be uprooted by the end of the year.
The hope is to move the buildings to a place in Collin County where it can act as a museum and a celebration of history.
If you'd like to help Bethel Village Foundation with moving costs, a funding page has been created.