2024 Massachusetts Preservation Grants Awarded
Macon, Georgia
16 grant recipients announced
The 1772 Foundation, partnering for a fifth year with Preservation Massachusetts, awarded historic preservation one-for-one matching grants totaling $125,446 to sixteen private nonprofit organizations maintaining historic sites in Massachusetts. The grants ranged in amount from $1,300 to the grant maximum of $10,000, which eight organizations received.
Grants were provided for exterior work: painting; surface restoration; fire detection/security systems; repairs to/restoration of chimneys, porches, roofs, and windows; repairs to foundations and sills; and masonry repointing. Preservation Massachusetts staff reviewed grant applications and selected funded projects based on criteria including geographic distribution, diversity of project type, diversity of applicant organization, organizational capacity, and project readiness. Preservation Massachusetts will manage the grants.
Ethiel Garlington, executive director of The 1772 Foundation, recalled, “Our founder, Stewart Barney Kean, fell in love with historic preservation through the act of restoration. He appreciated the materials and workmanship of historic buildings. More importantly, he recognized the value of maintenance, repairs, and upgrades to ensure historic places survive for the next stewards. These grants exemplify his spirit and love of historic preservation.”
Grant recipients were Alden Kindred of America (Alden House National Historic Site, Duxbury); Bellforge Arts Center (Medfield State Hospital, Medfield); Berkshire County Historical Society (Arrowhead, Pittsfield); Bolton Historical Society (Sawyer House, Bolton); Fine Arts Work Center (Days Lumberyard, Provincetown); Hamilton Hall (Salem); Harvard Historical Society (Still River Baptist Church, Harvard); Hubbardston Historical Society (Williamsville Chapel, Hubbardston); Immigrant City Archives dba Lawrence History Center (Essex Company Offices and Yard, Lawrence); Lexington Historical Society (Hancock-Clarke House and Munroe Tavern, Lexington); Newburyport Maritime Society dba Custom House Maritime Museum (Custom House, Newburyport); Plymouth Antiquarian Society (Hedge House Museum, Plymouth); Preservation Worcester (Salisbury House, Worcester); Sandisfield Arts Center (Montville Baptist Church, Sandisfield); The W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy (Clinton African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Great Barrington); and Wellfleet Historical Society & Museum (Wellfleet). Grants were also awarded in each of the other five New England states and in Georgia.
President of The 1772 Foundation Margaret Waldock, commenting on the importance of the matching grants, said, "These bricks and mortar grants across New England and Georgia prove that small investments can have transformational results. Our statewide partners continue to demonstrate the power of historic preservation in communities in seven states. We are in awe of their work and the work of the grantees saving these fascinating places.”