SHF Announces New Preservation Grants Awards Exceed $4.7 MillionOriginally published in Colorado History NOW, November/December 2007 
What do the Wiley Rock Schoolhouse in rural Prowers County, the Hayden Ranch in Leadville, the Logan County Courthouse in Sterling, and the historic horse stalls at the Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo have in common? They are all projects that received grant awards from the State Historical Fund for the first competitive grant round of fiscal year 2008. Sixty-four grants were awarded in all, totaling $4,759,647. The grants support historic preservation projects throughout Colorado, including small towns, rural areas, agricultural and tourist-based locations, and larger cities across the state. “The success of the Fund as a program that serves the state is that it reaches into every corner of Colorado to help preserve our heritage,” said Mark Wolfe, director of the State Historical Fund. “It is for the farmers and ranchers in the southeast, the merchants on the Western Slope, the citizens of the small towns and the city dwellers in the Front Range. Every region has its own unique heritage and the Fund is here to help preserve that history for future generations.” 
The Logan County Courthouse, a northeastern Colorado gem, is being rehabilitated for modern use by the county, while retaining its historic character. The 197 stone horse stalls at the Colorado State Fair, built in the 1930s as a Works Progress Administration project to shelter valuable equines, are being protected through major roof repairs. A historic waterwheel mechanical system is being restored at the Hayden Ranch for the education of students and visitors. The Wiley Rock Schoolhouse, a 1938 Works Progress Administration building that served four generations of students in the small farming community of Wiley, was saved from impending demolition and restored. Other important new and continuing projects across the state include the restoration and preservation of the Routt County Courthouse in Steamboat Springs, the Ft. Lewis Library in Durango, the Boettcher tropical plant conservatory at Denver’s Botanic Gardens, and the Colorado Springs Day Nursery. The State Historical Fund, a program of the Colorado Historical Society, awards grants to public and nonprofit organizations to preserve Colorado’s built heritage for public benefit. Program funds, provided by tax revenues from limited-stakes gaming, have helped preserve thousands of historic schools, town halls, agricultural sites, and other important resources. The State Historical Fund has awarded more than 3,100 grants totaling more than $192 million in all sixty-four Colorado counties since 1993. For a complete list of SHF grants funded during this round, go to the State Historical Fund pages on this web site.
|
