The National Park Service (NPS) announced nearly $9.7 million in Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants to 13 subgrant programs in 12 states today to support economic development through the preservation of historic buildings in rural communities across the country.
These grants mark the fifth year of funding for the program honoring the late Paul Bruhn, executive director of the Preservation Trust of Vermont for nearly 40 years. State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, Certified Local Governments, and nonprofits were eligible to apply for funding to create a subgrant program to fund multiple preservation projects in their rural jurisdictions.
“This National Park Service program is helping rural communities strengthen their economies through historic preservation,” said NPS Director Chuck Sams. “The subgrant programs being carried out at the local level are supporting improvements to historic buildings and fostering economic development across the country.”
Grants awarded in this round will allow state and local governments and nonprofit organizations to develop subgrant programs and select individual projects in their rural communities for physical preservation projects that will contribute to economic vitality.
Some projects from this year’s grants include:
- Montana – The Red Lodge Area Community Foundation will provide subgrants to renew community anchors in a flood-ravaged, historic community that serves as a gateway to Yellowstone National Park.
- New York – The Erie Canalway National Heritage Area will provide subgrants for physical preservation of historic properties located in rural communities adjacent to the Mohawk River/New York State Barge Canal System in central New York.
- Virginia – The Virginia Department of Historic Resources will provide subgrants to public and nonprofit-owned buildings in 25 rural counties in the Appalachian region of the state.
Congress appropriates funding for the program through the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). The HPF, authorized through 2023, uses revenue from federal oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf, providing assistance for a broad range of preservation projects without expending tax dollars.
For more information about the grants and the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants program, please visit nps.gov. Congress has appropriated $12.5 million for FY23 funding with applications planned to be available in the fall of 2023.
Awards:
| Location | Project | Grantee | Award |
| Georgia | Downtown Thomson Revitalization Program | McDuffie County Board of Commissioners | $ 700,000 |
| Iowa | Muscatine Downtown Historic Revitalization Project | City of Muscatine | $ 747,148 |
| Kansas | Kansas Rural Main Street Subgrants | Kansas State Historical Society | $ 750,000 |
| Massachusetts | Preservation Works in Western Mass | Pioneer Valley Regional Ventures Center | $ 750,000 |
| Missouri | Rural Missouri Main Street Subgrants | Missouri Main Street Connection, Inc. | $ 748,752 |
| Montana | Post Flood Historic and Economic Revitalization of Red Lodge and Carbon County | Red Lodge Area Community Foundation | $ 747,564 |
| New York | Mohawk Valley Historic Rural Revitalization Grant Program | Erie Canalway Heritage Fund, Inc. | $ 750,000 |
| Oklahoma | Muskogee Historic Revitalization Grant Program | Neighbors Building Neighborhoods of Muskogee, Inc. | $ 750,000 |
| South Carolina | Stabilization of Commercial Historic District buildings | Dillon Community Alliance | $ 750,000 |
| Virginia | Appalachian Virginia Revitalization Subgrant Program | Virginia Department of Historic Resources | $ 750,000 |
| Vermont | Downtown and Village Revitalization Grant Program – Round 5 | Preservation Trust of Vermont | $ 750,000 |
| West Virginia | Fund for Historic Schools | Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, Inc. | $ 750,000 |
| West Virginia | Wheeling Revitalization Subgrant Program | Wheeling National Heritage Corporation | $ 750,000 |
| 12 States | Total | $ 9,693,464 |
www.nps.gov
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 425 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.