State of Tennessee Announces 23 Historic Preservation Fund Grants

Friday, July 24, 2009 | 04:47am

Applications Available for 2009-2010 

NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen and the Tennessee Historical Commission announced today that a total of $579,900 in Historic Preservation Fund grants has been awarded to 23 community organizations for programs and activities that support the preservation of historic and archaeological sites, districts and structures.
 
“Tennessee’s historic places are important to our state’s heritage,” said Bredesen. “This program helps fund the work of local governments, non-profit groups and others to preserve and protect these special places and I’m pleased we can provide this assistance to ensure their efforts continue.”
 
The grants awarded come from federal funds allocated by the Department of Interior under the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act. The programs authorized by this Act are administered by the Tennessee Historical Commission.
 
"These grants help promote the protection and revitalization of Tennessee's treasured historic buildings, sites and neighborhoods – places that make our state unique," said Patrick McIntyre, executive director of the Tennessee Historical Commission. "It is a great investment, because heritage tourism is one of our biggest industries, and reusing historic buildings is key to helping create a sustainable environment."
 
This year’s selection process emphasized projects conducting architectural, archaeological and historic site surveys. Such projects are designed to identify and to record historic districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects built before 1960 that are significant to Tennessee's history. Surveys could be for a specific geographic area or for sites associated with themes or events significant in the state's history. Priorities for funding survey projects included areas experiencing rapid growth and development, other threats to cultural resources, areas where there are serious gaps in knowledge regarding cultural resources, and thematic surveys based upon existing historic study units produced by the State Historic Preservation Office.
 
Assistance also was made available for other types of historic preservation projects, including preservation planning studies for towns, neighborhoods and historic districts; the preparation of nominations to the National Register of Historic Places; planning or pre-development work necessary to undertake restoration of an historic property; and restoration of historic properties. For restoration or restoration pre-planning, properties must be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
 
The grants will pay for up to 60 percent of the costs of approved project work. The grant recipient must provide the remaining 40 percent of the costs as matching funds.
 
The grant recipients and/or sites of the projects include:
 
In Carter County:
  • City of Elizabethton – $6,000 to fund the city’s Historic Preservation Plan.
In Henderson County:
  • Montgomery Alumni Association – $25,000 to fund an architectural / engineering study and the initial restoration phase for Montgomery High School in Lexington.
In Knox County:
  • Knox County – $25,000to conduct an architectural, historical and archaeological survey of Kelly Bend, Frazier Bend and the Seven Islands area of the French Broad River.
In Marion County:
  • Tennessee River Gorge Trust – $12,000 to continue the preservation plan for McNabb Mines in the Shakerag community and to subsidize tree removal from buildings.
In Monroe County:
  • Monroe County – $24,000 to conduct an architectural / historical survey of Monroe County.
In Polk County:
  • Fourth Fractional Township – $32,500 to subsidize the rehabilitation of the Kimsey Junior College building, including roof and wall repair of the cafeteria, gymnasium and auditorium.
In Putnam County:
  • Tennessee Technological University Upper Cumberland Studies – $15,000 to enter historic property survey in a database.
In Rutherford County:
  • Heritage Partnership of Rutherford County – $19,000 to update and digitize previous historic / architectural surveys of Rutherford County.
  • Middle Tennessee State University Department of Sociology and Anthropology – $5,000 to conduct a gradiometer survey and revision of National Register boundaries and documentation for the Sellars Mound site in Wilson County.
  • Middle Tennessee State University Department of Geography - $20,000 to enter historic site survey data in a GIS database.
In Shelby County:
  • Memphis Division of Planning and Development – $40,000 to continue architectural / historical survey work in the city of Memphis, focusing on areas and buildings dating 1945 to 1960.
In Sumner County:
  • Clark Chapter #13 / United Daughters of the Confederacy – $25,000 to subsidize a new roof and guttering for Trousdale Place in Gallatin.
In Washington County:
  • Johnson City Historic Zoning Commission – $8,400 to conduct historical / architectural surveys of residential neighborhoods north of downtown Johnson City, assessing local or National Register eligibility.
In Wilson County:
  • Wilson County Black History Committee – $20,000 to restore Pickett’s Chapel United Methodist Church, including stabilization of chapel walls, roofing and window / door repair.
Multi-County Grants:
  • Tennessee Preservation Trust – $15,000 to fund the 2010 Statewide Preservation Conference in Greeneville.
  • National Trust for Historic Preservation – $15,000 to fund Tennessee scholarship program for the 2009 Conference in Nashville.
  • South Central Tennessee Development District – $48,000 to fund a preservation specialist staff position for the South Central Tennessee Development District.
  • East Tennessee Development District – $25,000 to fund a preservation specialist staff position for the East Tennessee Development District.
  • First Tennessee Development District – $25,000 to fund a preservation specialist staff position for the First Tennessee Development District.
  • Greater Nashville Regional Council – $25,000 to fund a preservation specialist staff position for the Greater Nashville Regional Council.
  • Southeast Tennessee Development District – $50,000 to fund a preservation specialist staff position for the Southeast Tennessee Development District.
  • Southwest Tennessee Development District – $50,000 to fund a preservation specialist staff position for the Southwest Tennessee Development District.
  • Upper Cumberland Development District – $50,000 to fund a preservation specialist staff position for the Upper Cumberland Development District.
The Tennessee Historical Commission is accepting grant applications for historic preservation projects for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. These grants, which are federally funded, will be available after October 1, 2009. The precise amount of funds available in Tennessee will not be known until Congress has passed the FY 2009-2010 budget. However, it is expected to be approximately $400,000. After review, applications will be rated and ranked. Funding decisions will be made when the exact amount of the federal allocation is known. This normally occurs by December but could be as late as spring 2010.
 
Completed applications must be postmarked by September 1, 2009.
 
Applications for grants are available from the Tennessee Historical Commission, 2941 Lebanon Road, Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0442. Applications also may be downloaded from the Historical Commission’s Web site at www.tn.gov/environment/hist/federal/presgrnt.shtml.
 
For more information about the Tennessee Historical Commission, please visit http://tn.gov/environment/hist or call (615) 532-1550.
 
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