TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — Police said they arrested a man suspected of setting a fire that destroyed a historic home in Taylor.
According to a news release, Taylor police said they took James Paul Gogolewski, 47, into custody Tuesday afternoon after securing a warrant for his arrest. Police said he is facing a charge of arson, which is a second-degree felony.
"The investigation revealed that Suspect Gogolewski intentionally set fire with intent to damage or destroy the Dr. James Lee Dickey Museum," police said in their release.
Police said the arrest happened at Gogolewski's home on Mallard Lane in Taylor.
The fire in question happened early Sunday morning at a home belonging to Dr. James Lee Dickey, a physician and civil rights advocate in Taylor. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. Work was underway to turn the home into a museum to Dickey's accomplishments.
Dickey, who died in 1959, was the only African-American doctor in Taylor when he settled there after serving in World War I to help his widowed mother raise his siblings, according to the historical marker.
Some of Dickey’s local efforts included addressing Taylor’s public health needs, improving water supply, admitting African American patients to state tubercular clinics, leading an effort against a typhoid fever outbreak, working for school bond passage and heading efforts for local recreation facilities and federal housing, according to the city. Dickey also founded the Taylor Negro Chamber of Commerce and was a Tillotson College trustee, where he attended college.
A restoration project on the house began four years ago, and the project was in its final construction phase ahead of a 2023 opening, according to the nonprofit. People wishing to donate to recovery efforts can find more information at www.dickeymuseum.org.
Williamson County jail records show Gogolewski remains in custody. No bond or attorney information is listed for him right now, so KXAN will update this story once his legal representation is known.
