Wharton County Historical Museum works to restore artifacts damaged by Harvey

WHARTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Wharton County Historical Museum is closed after Hurricane Harvey floodwaters damaged the building.

"Emotional, very much so," explained Executive Director Linda Bubela. "I'm a softie anyway, but knowing it will return really brightens this point of time."

The museum got about four feet of water inside.

"It's indescribable," Bubela said. "The carpet was wrinkled and full of water. It's just really sad."

The museum opened in 1980. The building is owned by the residents of Wharton County, but the items inside are property of the museum, which is a registered charity organization.

Board members don't have an estimate yet on how much repairs will cost, so they're trying to salvage some artifacts themselves. Some valuable documents were soaked through.

"We froze them. We were told to wrap them in Saran wrap and freeze them," Bubela explained. "Then, when we have the time, which is going to be a very tedious process, we will bring them out."

And when the museum finally reopens, it will have an exhibit on Hurricane Harvey -- new history to add to the old.

"There is history throughout the whole museum," Bubula said. "It's so hard, there's no way you can put any type of value on that history."