From the Director
2025 is off to a productive start! In this issue we highlight our new Historic Property/Land Acquisition Fund (HPLAF) competitive grant program, which is providing $2 million, in funding to help restore and revitalize 23 projects across the state. Projects awarded this year range from restoration work at courthouses in Coffee, Gibson, Monroe, and Roane Counties to refurbishing the stained-glass windows at Temple Adas Israel in Brownsville, and helping repair the c. 1800 Rogers Tavern in Rogersville. The enabling legislation also allows the Commission to use the HPLAF (subject to board approval) to fund improvements to our own properties and has already made an impact at our sites. In Franklin, the groundbreaking for our $6.5 million capital project of the Herbert Harper Visitor Center at Carter House State Historic Site will take place in a matter of weeks. The planned facility received a critical addition of $2 million in funding last year from the Commission’s board using HPLAF monies, which will allow a new facility to be constructed at our most visited state historic site. At Sparta Rock House State Historic Site in White County, where a generational $620,000 restoration is currently underway, we are finalizing the acquisition of 20 acres of surrounding property using HPLAF monies. The surrounding property, which was imminently threatened by development that would have encroached almost to the front door of the site will now be used for interpretive purposes. Look for more information in an upcoming issue. And work is well underway at Rock Castle State Historic Site in Hendersonville on the new visitor center, where some $4.1 million of HPLAF monies were added to the capital project’s state funding to allow the improvements to be built. On the Federal side, we had another successful round of Historic Preservation Fund grants totaling $800,000 (as outlined in this issue) and are looking forward to a full State Review Board agenda this month. I also recently signed the application to the National Park Service for what will hopefully be the 51st Certified Local Government enrolled in the program from Tennessee, so stay tuned.
As always, as the State Historic Preservation Office the Tennessee Historical Commission benefits from our dedicated and talented staff, who are always ready to assist. Please continue to reach out to us any time we may be of service, and thank you for your interest and work in protecting our state’s heritage and irreplaceable historic places.
Sincerely,
Patrick
