Partnership Grant Program Launched in Freedom’s Way NHA

The new Partnership Grant Program in Freedom's Way National Heritage Area will allow a youth group to place a memorial to enslaved people in the Salem Street Burying Ground in Medford, MA. Historic records indicates that more than 50 enslaved people were buried here in unmarked graves, but visitors to the historic cemetery will find no indication of that fact.

Photo by Jules Long

Devens, MA (May 3, 2019) – Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area, which spans 45 communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, is piloting a partnership grant program to encourage partners to tackle creative projects that will increase public awareness of and promote stewardship of the region’s history and heritage.

For the first year of the program, 2019, the Freedom’s Way Heritage Association (which manages the National Heritage Area) awarded grants to nine projects involving 22 regional partners.

Projects in Massachusetts

The Great Walden BioBlitz will gather dozens of ecologists and natural history experts to identify species within the Walden Woods ecosystem.

Photo courtesy of the Walden Woods Project

Concord: The Great Walden Bioblitz will identify living species around Walden Pond to document biodiversity and inform the public about the impacts of climate change.

Fitchburg: The Fitchburg Historical Visibility will introduce bilingual English/Spanish exhibits and materials that are aimed at engaging Fitchburg’s diverse community.

Groton: An educational garden will showcase indigenous and non-native plants on Groton Conservation Trust’s Moors Schoolhouse property.

Littleton: A tribal preservationist will map and assess a Native American ceremonial stone landscape on the Sarah Doublet Forest and Nature Preserve as part of an effort to permanently protect the site.

Leominster: The City of Leominster will develop interpretive signage for the historic Sholan Farms.

Medford Mayor Stephanie Burke and Executive Director Patrice Todisco of Freedom’s Way Heritage Association congratulate third-grade students, along with their teachers and high school mentors, on receipt of a grant to place a memorial marker for enslaved people buried in Salem Street Burying Ground

Courtesy of Wicked Local / Joseph Lim

Medford: A team of elementary and high school students will place a memorial marker for more than 50 enslaved people buried in unmarked graves in the city’s historic Salem Street Burying Ground.

Sudbury: The new Sudbury History Center will develop a creative exhibit integrating the history of Sudbury within the context of overarching themes that shaped the nation.

Westford: A permanent exhibit about the Westford Academy, the state’s oldest coeducational secondary school building (dating from 1794), will be developed and placed in the Academy’s newly renovated lobby.

Projects in New Hampshire

Nashua: The Nashua International Sculpture Symposium will purchase news sculpting tools.


Patrice Todisco, Executive Director of Freedom’s Way Heritage Association, remarked that the diversity of the projects “reflects the rich heritage of the region and the impressive work of our many partners to protect, preserve and enhance the cultural, natural and historical resources that make it special."

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