The National Park Service is providing nearly $9.7 million in Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants to different programs across 12 states to support historic preservation in rural communities across the country. This year commemorates the program's fifth consecutive year of funding, according to an Aug. 10 news release.
"This National Park Service program is helping rural communities strengthen their economies through historic preservation," NPS Director Chuck Sams said in the release. "The subgrant programs being carried out at the local level are supporting improvements to historic building and fostering economic development across the country."
The grant program was established in honor of the late Paul Bruhn, who served as the executive director of the Preservation Trust of Vermont for nearly 40 years, the release reported. These grants will empower state and local governments, along with nonprofit entities, to establish subgrant initiatives and handpick specific projects within their communities for the purpose of physical preservation, with the aim of enhancing their economic well-being.
Among the chosen projects for this year are the Red Lodge Area Community Foundation in Montana, which will rejuvenate essential community assets within a historically significant area that suffered from flooding and serves as a gateway to Yellowstone National Park. Additionally, the grant recipients include the Erie Canalway National Heritage Project in New York and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the release said.
Subgrants for the physical preservation of historical properties within rural communities neighboring the Mohawk River/New York State Barge Canal System in central New York will be furnished by the Erie Canalway National Heritage Area. Simultaneously, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources is set to distribute subgrants to public and nonprofit-owned structures situated in 25 rural counties within Virginia's Appalachian region, the release reported.
A full list of the grant recipients by state can be found on the National Park Service's website, according to the release.
