Post-flood long-term recovery center being built in Hunt

HUNT, Texas — The Hunt Store was a central meeting place for everyone in the surrounding community. With the store closing after the flood, a temporary gathering place is in the works. 

“We were ground zero for a lot of the physical damage that was done to the area,” said John Dunn, president of the Hunt Preservation Society. 

Sitting between the north and south forks of the Guadalupe River is Hunt, Texas. The deadly Fourth of July flooding caused damage across Kerr County — about $1 billion worth, according to Dunn — but Hunt was hit the hardest. Dunn said the Hunt Preservation Society is focusing on long-term recovery.

“Getting people back in their homes, emergency and medical needs first,” said Dunn. “But now we have pivoted to try to address the rest of the community needs. And a lot of it is economic revitalization.”

Since July, Hunt organizations have received nearly $5 million in grants from the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, with $500,000 going toward building a long-term recovery center.

“That’s exactly what the community center intended to do on a temporary basis,” Dunn said. “To replace what we lost when we lost the store.”

The Hunt Store was this town’s unofficial community center. 

“The store, everybody knows, is the heartbeat of Hunt and the center of Hunt,” said Dunn. “It’s the hub of all activity. So, when we lost it, we lost the community center, we lost the student center.”

The Preservation Society is launching its CPR program, which stands for Community Preservation and Revitalization. CPR is an avenue to get funds directly to Hunt businesses and camps in preparation for summer 2026.

“We get them in their homes, but they don’t have jobs and don’t have an economy to support it [so] we still have another disaster,” Dunn said.

Dunn said that the society has been raising money since the flood to help community staples bounce back.

“[We] try to do some fundraising for the rest of the community assets,” Dunn said. “Our Hunt Store, Criders, all of our summer camps. The short-term rentals that are critical to supporting the tourists and visitors as they come in over the summer.” 

The new community center will be for locals and visitors returning to the Hill Country once it’s warm. 

Dunn said Hunt has made progress in seven months, but those grants only scratch the surface of the needs here. He said any money donated to the Hunt Flood Recovery Fund will stay in this community. 

“To prevent community deterioration, to ease the burden of government by doing it ourselves,” Dunn said. “Through our fundraising, we’re trying to do everything we can on our own to bring the Hunt community back.”