Supporting History

State Historical Fund Awards Over $7 Million in Grants

Originally published in Colorado History NOW, March 2005

Before English settlers founded Jamestown in Virginia, Spanish explorers ventured into what is now southern Colorado.  Colonists, in limited numbers at first, entered this territory during the following decades.  Hundreds of years later, Hispanic culture remains strong throughout Colorado, especially in the San Luis Valley.  But few monuments remain.  One of them is the San Rafael Presbyterian Church in Mogote, also known as Dios Es Amor.

Once listed as one of Colorado’s Most Endangered Places, today San Rafael is in the process of being restored with financial help from the State Historical Fund (SHF).  Thanks to a recent $102,205 grant, the church’s five-year multi-phase restoration project is nearing completion.  After being closed for four decades, this 1895 adobe structure soon will reopen as a local gathering place.

Margie Garcia, whose family has lived in the San Luis Valley for generations, cherishes her memories of the church where she grew up—a place that became the heart of her community.  “My grandparents were married here in 1906, twenty-five years later my parents were married here, and twenty-five years after that my husband and I were the third generation to be married at this church,” she reminisced.  “But when my son got married, we had to have his ceremony at the Presbyterian Church in Antonito, five miles down the road.” Smiling, she continued, “Now that our church will be restored, I hope that my grandchildren will be able to continue this family tradition, which, at one time, I thought would be lost forever.”

Including the grant to restore San Rafael Presbyterian Church, SHF awarded seventy-four grants totaling $7,094,956 during the program’s second competitive grant round for fiscal year 2005.  These grants will help support a variety of local preservation initiatives in communities across the state.  Projects funded range from an excavation of Goodman Point Unit in Montezuma County by the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center to exterior restoration of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Leadville—an abandoned brick building that will be rehabilitated into apartments.  Other projects funded include the rehabilitation of the historic Holden Block in Pueblo for affordable housing, the continued restoration of the Sheridan Opera House in Telluride, and several heritage tourism projects throughout the state.

In addition, grants were awarded for preservation work on the following historic school and civic buildings:

• Baca County Courthouse
• Costilla County Courthouse
• Longmont City Hall
• Oak Creek Town Hall in Routt County
• Ouray County Courthouse
• Durango High School
• Lincoln Elementary School in Boulder
• Pitkin School in Gunnison County
• Riverside School in Grand Junction
• Wiley Rock Schoolhouse in Prowers County

“These historic sites are tangible reminders of our past,” explained Mark Wolfe, SHF’s director and Colorado’s deputy state historic preservation officer.  “They were often built by local people using native materials with a level of craftsmanship that we rarely see today.  They are what give Colorado its character.  By preserving them, we will be able to continue drawing people and businesses to our state, as well as help revitalize rural communities that are looking for a way to jumpstart their local economies.”

The application deadline for SHF’s next grant round is April 1, 2005.  For a complete list of SHF grants funded during this round, please refer to the all-funded list on this web site.

BY JENNIFER COOK, SHF Public Relations Advisor

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