WASHINGTON - The National Park Service (NPS) today awarded $7 million in the inaugural round of funding for the Semiquincentennial Grant Program commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Created by Congress in 2020 and funded through the Historic Preservation Fund, this round of grants will support 17 cultural resource preservation projects across 12 states.
“National parks and National Park Service programs serve to tell authentic and complete history, provide opportunities for exploring the legacies that impact us today and contribute to healing and understanding," said NPS Director Chuck Sams. “Through the Semiquincentennial Grant Program, we are supporting projects that showcase the many places and stories that contributed to the evolution of the American experience."
The first round of grants from this program will support projects like:
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The rehabilitation of the Colburn House in Pittston, Maine. Major Colburn worked with local Indigenous leaders and colonists to map a water trail route and quickly construct small boats for Benedict Arnold’s campaign to seize Quebec in 1775.
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The Catoctin Furnace in Thurmont, Maryland will receive a grant to upgrade the HVAC system in the Museum of the Ironworker, where stories and artifacts related to early industry and labor, both free and enslaved, are interpreted to the public.
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In Wisconsin, Lizard Mound State Park will receive a grant to remove invasive trees and reroute walking trails on a 20-acre site containing 28 ceremonial mounds constructed between 750 and 1250 AD.
Semiquincentennial Grant Recipients
State
City
Projects
Grantee
Award
Arizona
Tubac
Rehabilitation of the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park
Friends of the Tubac Presidio and Museum, Inc.
$121,000
Connecticut
Guilford
Rehabilitation of the Henry Whitfield House
Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development
$500,000
Kentucky
Tompkinsville
Rehabilitation of the Old Mulkey Meetinghouse State Historic Site
Commonwealth of Kentucky
$180,000
Maryland
Annapolis
James Brice House Window Restoration
Historic Annapolis Foundation
$500,000
Maryland
Thurmont
Stabilization of the Ironmaster’s Mansion at Catoctin Furnace
Catoctin Furnace Historical Society
$314,000
Maryland
Thurmont
Rehabilitation of the Museum of the Ironworker at Catoctin Furnace
Catoctin Furnace Historical Society
$291,000
Maine
Pittston
Rehabilitation of the Colburn House State Historic Site
Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
$500,000
New Jersey
Princeton
Rehabilitation of the Mansion and Grounds of Morven
Historic Morven, Inc.
$500,000
New Jersey
Haddonfield
Rehabilitation of the Indian King Tavern Building Envelope
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
$500,000
New Jersey
Somerville
Preservation of the Wallace House and Old Dutch Parsonage
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
$500,000
New York
Youngstown
Masonry Preservation at Old Fort Niagara State Historic Site
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
$500,000
North Carolina
Raleigh
Preservation of Colonial Brunswick Town
North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
$500,000
Pennsylvania
Cheyney
Rehabilitation of Melrose Cottage
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
$500,000
Rhode Island
Providence
Exterior Preservation of the Governor Stephen Hopkins House
Executive Office of the State of Rhode Island
$424,000
Virginia
Berryville
Rehabilitation of the Main House, Smoke House, and Spring House at Clermont Farm
Clermont Farm Foundation
$472,000
Virginia
White Marsh
Rehabilitation of the Timberneck House at Machicomoco State Park
Fairfield Foundation, Inc.
$500,000
Wisconsin
Madison
Lizard Mound Site Enhancements
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
$290,000
Congress appropriated funding for the Semiquincentennial Grant Program in FY2021 through the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). The HPF uses revenue from federal oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf, assisting with a broad range of preservation projects without expending tax dollars, with the intent to mitigate the loss of a nonrenewable resource to benefit the preservation of other irreplaceable resources.
Established in 1977, the HPF is authorized at $150 million per year through 2023 and has provided more than $2 billion in historic preservation grants to states, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations. Administered by the NPS, HPF funds may be appropriated by Congress to support a variety of historic preservation projects to help preserve the nation’s cultural resources.
For more information about NPS historic preservation programs and grants, please visit nps.gov/stlpg/
www.nps.gov
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Tags: historic preservation historic preservation grants historic preservation fund tribal semiquincentennial
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
