A piece of World War II history that has been on display on the Liberty County Courthouse Square for decades is being preserved as part of an Eagle Scout project.
Luke Robinson, a Boy Scout from Troop 727 in Kingwood, plans to power-wash, sand and paint the old cannon and its railing. He shared details of the project on Tuesday with Liberty County Commissioners Court and already has received the blessing of the Liberty County Historical Commission.
With a team of volunteers from his Boy Scout troop, Robinson plans to use coarse sandpaper, putty knives and wire brushes to remove the old paint and rust from the cannon and the railing. Once the paint is removed, both will be cleaned thoroughly before painting the cannon the same blue-gray color as it is currently.
Robinson told commissioners that he travels to Liberty often as he has family living in the area.
“I am really excited to be cleaning the cannon. I love history, especially World War II history, and this cannon is part of history,” he said. “My project will benefit the people of Liberty because this piece of history will be restored.”
Weather permitting, Robinson and his volunteer team will begin the power-washing of the cannon on Thursday, June 30. They expect to have it ready for sanding and scraping by Friday, July 1, and then start painting it on Saturday, July 2.
County Judge Jay Knight expressed his support for the project to commissioners. According to Knight, a World War I cannon was located on the courthouse square previously but it was scrapped during World War II and the metal was used for war efforts.
If you go on newspapers.com and type in the cannon information it will show you articles about how folks in Liberty wanted to scrap it in the 40’s.