THC Awards MTSU $53,402 In HPF Grants

Jun 27, 2019 at 07:16 am by bryan


The Tennessee Historical Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, has announced 32 Federal Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) grants totaling over $750,000 awarded and MTSU has received two of them.

Here in Murfreesboro, Middle Tennessee State University received $53,402. The local university's Department of Sociology and Anthropology was awarded $3,402 for posters that promote Tennessee Archaeology Week. In addition, $50,000 was presented to MTSU's Fullerton Laboratory for Spatial Technology. That grant will enable the university to digitize data for historic and architectural survey files as well as for survey data entry for computerization of survey files.

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The grants are awarded annually for projects that support the preservation of historic and archaeological resources. "This program is one of the main ways in which our office helps protect historic places and contribute to the preservation of Tennessee's heritage," said Patrick McIntyre, Executive Director and State Historic Preservation Officer.

The federally funded matching grants provide 60% of project funds from the HPF and 40% of project funds come from the grantee. Grants are competitive and this year the Tennessee Historical Commission staff reviewed 51 applications with funding requests totaling approximately $1.6 million, significantly more than the amount of funding available.

This year's selection included archaeological surveys, design guidelines for historic districts, rehabilitation of historic buildings, posters highlighting the state's archaeology, and surveys of historic resources.

One of the grant priorities is for projects that are in Certified Local Governments (CLG), a program that allows communities to participate closely in the federal program of historic preservation. Seven CLG communities were awarded grants this year. Additional priorities include those that meet the goals and objectives of the office's plan for historic preservation. Properties that use the restoration grants must be listed in the National Register.

The next round of grants is expected to be opened in December 2019 with applications due in January 2020. Checkwww.tnhistoricalcommission.org for updates.

For more information about the Tennessee Historical Commission, please visit the Web site at: http://www.tnhistoricalcommission.org.

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