Community Projects Get Much-Needed Support from Essex NHA Grants

Students from Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School accept a partnership grant from Executive Director Annie Harris (center) of the Essex Heritage Commission and Paul DePrey (far left), Superintendent of Salem Maritime National Historic Site

Essex NHA Photo

April 18, 2019 (Ipswich, MA) – Essex National Heritage Area recently awarded 12 community partnership grants to ensure the continued appreciation and preservation of the vital cultural and historic resources of Essex County, Massachusetts.

Since the grant program began 21 years ago, the Essex Heritage Commission (which manages Essex National Heritage Area) has provided grants to every community in Essex County, for a total investment of $1.6 million.

Each of this year’s $2,000 grants provide funds to support an educational, interpretive, or historical preservation initiative in Essex County. The projects range from repairing historic structures to developing programs to reach new audiences.

Here are the 2019 grantees and their projects.

• The Buttonwoods Museum in Haverhill will create a new audience-centered interpretive plan to better incorporate the region’s history into its exhibits and programs.
• The Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport will develop an outreach program to bring the region’s maritime heritage to youth, particularly those unable to visit the museum because of financial or transportation barriers.
• Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School in Danvers will install water pump windmills along a stream to create an alternate drinking source for the school’s cattle. The cattle currently drink from the stream, eroding the banks and polluting the water.
• Danvers Historical Society will restore the Palladian windows of the Derby Summer House, built in 1794 and now a National Historical Landmark.
• The Highlands Coalition will begin creating a civic space and garden by restoring the grounds and historic buildings in High Rock Park in Lynn.
• Lawrence History Center will update their elevator to make their archives of the city’s diverse history more accessible to people of all ages and abilities.
• Magnolia Historical Society will digitize 10,000 historical documents and photos from their archives to preserve and share Magnolia’s history.
• Maritime Gloucester will create new interpretive signage and interactive activities along the waterfront to engage 25,000 visitors in the cultural and natural history of Gloucester.
• Mass Audubon’s Endicott Wildlife Sanctuary in Wenham will build a boardwalk to allow visitors, including their onsite preschool program, to experience the wetlands with minimal impact on the environment.
• Nahant Public Library will carry out emergency repairs to their historic building, which was erected in 1895.
• The Pickering Foundation will restore the garden and terrace at the Pickering House, the oldest house in Salem, dating from 1660.
• Rockport Historical Commission with undertake a study to stabilize and restore a historic freight house and crane.

All of these projects will contribute to the mission of Essex National Heritage Area to preserve and enhance the historic, cultural, and natural resources of Essex County and its nationally significant heritage.

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Rockport Historical Commission will use their grant to begin preserving this historic freight house, built in the late 19th century

Courtesy of Essex NHA

The wetland forest at Endicott Wildlife Sanctuary, where Mass Audubon will build a boardwalk to provide educational experiences in nature without damaging the habitat

Courtesy of Essex NHA