The National Park Service recently announced that it has awarded $10,670,000 to 15 projects across eight states through the Historic Preservation Fund’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) grant program. This program focuses on repairing historic structures on HBCU campuses.
“Preserving the vibrant history of America’s HBCUs is essential to ensuring that these significant places and events are remembered,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “I’m proud that the National Park Service can support this locally-led stewardship.”
This year’s grants will aid in the preservation of sites such as Simmons College’s Steward Hall, Delaware State University’s Hope House, and Cheyney University of Pennsylvania’s Melrose Cottage.
Simmons College, the only private HBCU in Kentucky, will rehabilitate Steward Hall, one of two remaining buildings from the college’s peak period in 1924. Designed and built by celebrated Black architect and Simmons College graduate Samuel Plato, the funds will be used for window and door rehabilitation, foundation repairs, and tuckpointing.
Delaware State University (DSU) in Dover, Delaware, will rehabilitate a pre-1885, three-story frame building with Queen Anne architectural features, including a mansard roof and an expansive porch. Originally owned by Wesley College and acquired by DSU in 2021, the building, to be named Hope House, will address issues with the building envelope, interior water damage, and mold remediation, and will provide social services for students and the community.
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania will rehabilitate Melrose Cottage, a building dating back to around 1785. Serving as the university president’s house from 1913 to 1951 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, the rehabilitated building will become the admission team’s hub and a welcome center for campus tours. Funding will be used for electrical system repairs, fire suppression system installation, and accessibility improvements.
Awards
| Location | Project | Grantee | Award |
| Alabama Selma | Preservation of Foster Hall | Selma University | $750,000 |
| Delaware Dover | Hope House Rehabilitation, Phase I | Delaware State University | $750,000 |
| Florida Tallahassee | Florida A&M University Carnegie Library Rehabilitation | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | $749,997 |
| Georgia Augusta | Rehabilitation of the Historic Peters Campus Center | Paine College | $750,000 |
| Georgia Augusta | Rehabilitation of Historic Eppworth Hall | Paine College | $750,000 |
| Georgia Augusta | Belle Bennett Hall Historic Rehabilitation Project | Paine College | $749,039 |
| Kentucky Louisville | Steward Hall Rehabilitation | Simmons College of Kentucky | $750,000 |
| Mississippi Holly Springs | Leontyne Price Library Rehabilitation | Rust College | $750,000 |
| Mississippi Lorman | Harmon Hall Repairs, Phase 1 | Alcorn State University | $722,400 |
| Mississippi Lorman | Dormitory #2 Rehabilitation | Alcorn State University | $750,000 |
| Mississippi Lorman | Belles Lettres Hall Rehabilitation | Alcorn State University | $750,000 |
| Mississippi Jackson | Preservation of the Zachary T. Hubert Health Center | Jackson State University | $198,564 |
| Pennsylvania Cheyney Thornbury | Rehabilitation of Melrose Cottage | Cheyney University of Pennsylvania | $750,000 |
| South Carolina Columbia | Starks Center Preservation Project Phase III | Benedict College | $750,000 |
| South Carolina Denmark | Preservation and Stabilization of the Historical St. James Academic Building | Voorhees University | $750,000 |
| 8 states | Total | 10,670,000 |
Congress appropriated funding for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Grant Program in FY2023 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 nonrenewable resources to benefit the preservation of other irreplaceable resources.
Established in 1977, the HPF was authorized at $150 million per year through 2024 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. Other HPF grant programs managed by NPS fund preservation of America’s premier cultural resources and historic places in Underrepresented Communities, as well as sites key to the representation of Tribal Heritage, African American civil rights, and the History of Equal Rights in America.
For more information about NPS historic preservation programs and grants, please visit nps.gov/stlpg/
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 429 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.
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