May 10, 2023

National Trust Awards $209,047 in Catalytic Grant Funding for Planning, Education, Conferences, and More

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is excited to announce grant recipients from the February 2023 National Trust Preservation Fund round. The Trust awarded $209,047 to 39 organizations across 21 states and the District of Columbia. The awarded projects include architectural and engineering planning, preservation conferences, educational content development, and more, also reflecting a range of underrepresented communities. Read more about these projects below, and learn how you can apply to the upcoming June 1, 2023, grant round of the National Trust Preservation Fund.

February 2023 National Trust Preservation Fund Grant Recipients

ROSSIA | Anchorage, Alaska
$5,000 to hire an electrical engineer to prepare documents for restoration of the St. Nicholas Orthodox Church and rectory.

Lifting As We Climb Foundation, Inc. | Hoover, Alabama
$2,500 for consultant fees to develop community forums for research on an updated museum narrative and docent materials regarding the ownership and African American culture of Arlington Historic House.

Tessaku | San Mateo, California
$5,000 to support a public ceremony in honor of James Wakasa, a Japanese immigrant killed in 1943 at the Topaz, Utah, Incarceration camp.

Mineral King Preservation Society | Three Rivers, California
$4,500 to support the design and public interactive forum for an outdoor exhibit on the New England Tunnel and Smelting Company water jacket utilizing methods.

Filoli Center | Woodside, California
$5,000 to develop interpretation and interactive storytelling through the learning and engagement department and partner organizations.

City of Alamosa | Alamosa, Colorado
$5,000 to restore one of the last remaining Seth Thomas street clocks.

Denver Rail Heritage Society | Severance, Colorado
$9,000 to implement an ADA compliant wheelchair lift for the Denver Trolley.

FDR Memorial Legacy Committee | Washington, D.C.
$5,000 to build organizational capacity through committee education and training.

Historic Athens | Athens, Georgia
$4,000 to facilitate a series of workshops to engage young leaders in the community to build their leadership skills and knowledge in preservation and public history.

Keokuk Union Depot Foundation | Keokuk, Iowa

A red roofed brick train depot with arched windows and an awning for waiting train passengers.

photo by: Damon Cackley

Keokuk Union Depot after its 2017 roof restoration and during train shed restoration.

The Keokuk Union Depot Foundation was awarded $4,847 from the Dr. Frank Henry Landes Preservation Fund for Iowa to conduct historic lighting research and hire consultation to provide guidance on the design and replica fabrication of the original interior waiting room lighting fixtures. The Keokuk Union Depot was built in 1891 and served as a main transportation hub for the area. The depot is currently the last known surviving iron turtle-back train shed and had functioned as a community event center since 2014. The lighting consultation project will contribute to the overall restoration of the waiting room and adjacent train shed.

Anthony Theatre, Inc. | Anthony, Kansas
$2,200 to hire an architect to evaluate and create a plan for the Anthony Theatre restoration.

City of Newton | Newton, Kansas
$5,000 to develop an interactive smartphone app to educate visitors about historic downtown.

Art Center of the Bluegrass | Danville, Kentucky
$5,000 to support fundraising staff in undertaking a capital campaign to purchase and restore a second historic Main Street property.

Henry Clay Memorial Foundation | Lexington, Kentucky
$5,000 to support research with the physical evidence of slavery in Henry Clay’s estate, Ashland, including materials from archaeological digs, information from letters and newspapers, and extant structures.

Louisiana Main Street Managers Association | New Iberia, Louisiana
$10,000 to support speaker costs at the Destination Downtown conference.

Friends of Beauregard-Keyes House | New Orleans, Louisiana
$5,000 to hire a preservation architect to restore the back gallery and facade of the Historic Beauregard-Keyes House and Gardens.

The Descendants Project | Vacherie, Louisiana
$4,000 to facilitate a historic preservation workshop to engage and educate the community on the value of local African American historic and cultural assets.

Boston Preservation Alliance, Inc. | Boston, Massachusetts
$5,000 to hire a strategic planner tasked with creating a five-year plan for the organization’s mission and branding that would represent Boston’s diverse community.

Buckland Historical Society | Buckland, Massachusetts
$10,000 to conduct an architectural resource study of the 1832 Elmer’s Mill, the last remaining structure of the original 17 Clesson Brook Mills.

Edgell Grove Cemetery | Framingham, Massachusetts
$5,000 to hire an architect for the Edgell Grove Cemetery Receiving Tomb restoration.

Marblehead Museum | Marblehead, Massachusetts
$5,000 for an archaeological field school regarding the Jeremiah Lee family and the enslaved people at the estate.

Missouri Main Street Connection, Inc. | Branson, Missouri
$5,000 to support educational session at the Downtown Revitalization Conference.

Opportunity 1888 Foundation, Inc. | Jefferson City, Missouri
$5,000 to collect oral histories of the Harrison School living alumni.

Downtown Marceline | Marceline, Missouri
$4,000 to hire a consultant to complete a National Register of Historic Places application for two Main Street buildings

Route 66 Association of Missouri, Inc. | St. Peters, Missouri

A view of an old bridge with a yellow sign marking its height as 14 feet 9 inches.

photo by: Philip C. Denton

Gasconade River Bridge prior to closure to traffic, viewed from the southwest.

The Route 66 Association of Missouri, Inc. was awarded $5,000 from the Kansas and Missouri Preservation Fund to hire an engineering firm to inspect, test, and conduct planning work at the historic Route 66 steel trust bridge over the Gasconade River in Laclede County. The four-span bridge was constructed in 1923-34, used for Route 66 traffic starting in 1926. The bridge has been closed since 2014 due to deterioration and the planned restoration will contribute to its current use in education and tourism.

The Cherry Community Organization | Charlotte, North Carolina
$4,000 to develop a website and social media strategy for the Morgan School, one of Charlotte’s last remaining historically African American schools.

HER Legacy International, Inc. | Weldon, North Carolina
$5,000 to restore the historic Zack’s Grocery Store, a hub for local residents and students of the Ralph J. Bunche High School.

Edmond History Museum | Edmond, Oklahoma
$2,500 to facilitate a consortium celebrating the remaining Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) architectural structures, develop a Centennial Committee, and a marketing and tourism plan.

Founders’ Place Historical District, Inc. | Muskogee, Oklahoma
$2,500 to facilitate the first Muskogee Historic Preservation Conference.

The Edwards Store, Inc. | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
$5,000 to hire a consultant for marketplace analysis to restore the only surviving Indian Territory structure along the Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail.

Town of Tullahassee | Tullahassee, Oklahoma
$5,000 to develop schematic design drawings and a construction narrative for the renovation of the AJ Mason building.

Benton County | Corvallis, Oregon
$5,000 to develop Spectres of Benton County, a free mystery adventure game that engages the public in educational puzzles based on the history of local resources.

Rhode Island Latino Arts | Providence, Rhode Island
$5,000 to produce a virtual tour video featuring sites of historical significance to the Latinx community of the Southside of Providence.

The Lincolnville Preservation and Historical Society | Summerville, South Carolina
$5,000 to develop design guidelines for a historic district designation for Lincolnville.

South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office | Pierre, South Dakota
$20,000 to develop a cultural resource context to record and evaluate water-managing resources.

Abilene Preservation League | Abilene, Texas
$5,000 to conduct a feasibility study to repair the front facade and build a historical reconstruction of the remainder of Abilene Courts.

Ariel view of a plantation house and outbuildings amidst Virginia farmland.

photo by: Preservation Virginia

Aerial view of Bacon’s Castle and grounds.

Preservation Virginia | Richmond, Virginia

Preservation Virginia was awarded $5,000 from the Preservation Fund for Tidewater Virginia to support dendrochronology at Bacon’s Castle. The 18th century structures represent the significant agricultural history of Virginia. This project will contribute to current ongoing research conducted regarding the history of the enslaved population at the site.

Wilton House Museum | Richmond, Virginia
$5,000 to support the research, writing, and design for a public exhibit on the preservation effort to save the Wilton House in the 1930s.

Washington Trust for Historic Preservation | Seattle, Washington
$5,000 to fund the Youth Heritage Project, a four-day field school connecting high school student to the historic and cultural sites of Washington, taking place at the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.

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Author headshot. A woman in a black top staring straight at the camera.

Kerrian France is an assistant for grants and awards at the National Trust and a 2022 Mildred Colodny Scholar. She graduated with her M.S. in Historic Preservation from Columbia University in May 2023.

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