News Release

National Park Service awards $7 million in inaugural Semiquincentennial grant program

Major Reuben Colburn House in Pittstown, Maine.

Artifex Architects & Engineers

News Release Date: August 10, 2022

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WASHINGTON – The National Park Service (NPS) today awarded $7 million in the inaugural round of funding for the Semiquincentennial Grant Program commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Created by Congress in 2020 and funded through the Historic Preservation Fund, this round of grants will support 17 cultural resource preservation projects across 12 states. 

“National parks and National Park Service programs serve to tell authentic and complete history, provide opportunities for exploring the legacies that impact us today and contribute to healing and understanding,” said NPS Director Chuck Sams. “Through the Semiquincentennial Grant Program, we are supporting projects that showcase the many places and stories that contributed to the evolution of the American experience.” 

The first round of grants from this program will support projects like: 

• The rehabilitation of the Colburn House in Pittston, Maine. Major Colburn worked with local Indigenous leaders and colonists to map a water trail route and quickly construct small boats for Benedict Arnold’s campaign to seize Quebec in 1775.  

• The Catoctin Furnace in Thurmont, Maryland will receive a grant to upgrade the HVAC system in the Museum of the Ironworker, where stories and artifacts related to early industry and labor, both free and enslaved, are interpreted to the public.  

• In Wisconsin, Lizard Mound State Park will receive a grant to remove invasive trees and reroute walking trails on a 20-acre site containing 28 ceremonial mounds constructed between 750 and 1250 AD. 

Semiquincentennial Grant Recipients

State	City	Projects	Grantee	Award
Arizona	Tubac	Rehabilitation of the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park	Friends of the Tubac Presidio and Museum, Inc.	$121,000
Connecticut	Guilford	Rehabilitation of the Henry Whitfield House	Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development	$500,000
Kentucky	Tompkinsville	Rehabilitation of the Old Mulkey Meetinghouse State Historic Site	Commonwealth of Kentucky	$180,000
Maryland	Annapolis	James Brice House Window Restoration	Historic Annapolis Foundation	$500,000
Maryland	Thurmont	Stabilization of the Ironmaster’s Mansion at Catoctin Furnace	Catoctin Furnace Historical Society	$314,000
Maryland	Thurmont	Rehabilitation of the Museum of the Ironworker at Catoctin Furnace	Catoctin Furnace Historical Society	$291,000
Maine	Pittston	Rehabilitation of the Colburn House State Historic Site	Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry	$500,000
New Jersey	Princeton	Rehabilitation of the Mansion and Grounds of Morven	Historic Morven, Inc.	$500,000
New Jersey	Haddonfield	Rehabilitation of the Indian King Tavern Building Envelope	New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection	$500,000
New Jersey	Somerville	Preservation of the Wallace House and Old Dutch Parsonage	New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection	$500,000
New York	Youngstown	Masonry Preservation at Old Fort Niagara State Historic Site	New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation	$500,000
North Carolina	Raleigh	Preservation of Colonial Brunswick Town	North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources	$500,000
Pennsylvania	Cheyney	Rehabilitation of Melrose Cottage	Cheyney University of Pennsylvania	$500,000
Rhode Island	Providence	Exterior Preservation of the Governor Stephen Hopkins House	Executive Office of the State of Rhode Island	$424,000
Virginia	Berryville	Rehabilitation of the Main House, Smoke House, and Spring House at Clermont Farm	Clermont Farm Foundation	$472,000
Virginia	White Marsh	Rehabilitation of the Timberneck House at Machicomoco State Park	Fairfield Foundation, Inc.	$500,000
Wisconsin	Madison	Lizard Mound Site Enhancements	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	$290,000

 

Congress appropriated funding for the Semiquincentennial Grant Program in FY2021 through the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). The HPF uses revenue from federal oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf, assisting with a broad range of preservation projects without expending tax dollars, with the intent to mitigate the loss of a nonrenewable resource to benefit the preservation of other irreplaceable resources.

Established in 1977, the HPF is authorized at $150 million per year through 2023 and has provided more than $2 billion in historic preservation grants to states, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations. Administered by the NPS, HPF funds may be appropriated by Congress to support a variety of historic preservation projects to help preserve the nation’s cultural resources.

For more information about NPS historic preservation programs and grants, please visit nps.gov/stlpg/ 

www.nps.gov 

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 423 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.