[Source: Casa Grande Valley Newspapers] — A four-month contract to make extensive repairs and renovations to McFarland State Historic Park in Florence began last week. The porch, which had been weakened by dry rot, was torn out but will definitely be replaced. The rooms on the south side of the building, added for office space in the 1950s, will be removed so the porch may once again encircle the building. “We want to make it look more like it did” as the original Pinal County Courthouse, Park Manager Christopher DeMille said.
A French drain, as well as a wall under the porch, will help ensure that water doesn’t contact the adobe wall anymore. This and a new underground drainage system will drain water to the ditch between McFarland Park and the town of Florence’s Heritage Park. The project includes repairs to the major cracks in the adobe walls. Repairs to the walls made with red brick and cement in years past will be removed and replaced with adobe blocks.
The park at Main and Ruggles streets was closed in early February. Amid the state’s continuing budget crisis, no reopening date has been announced. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]