State Historical Fund Awards $7 million in Grants

Projects include rehabilitation of historic buildings for educational uses

The State Historical Fund, a program of the Colorado Historical Society, has awarded 60 grants for historic preservation totaling $7.12 million for the second competitive grant round of fiscal year 2008.

Many of the grant recipients across Colorado are engaged in projects to provide educational benefits to communities.

Among the new and continuing grant projects are the Drennan Community School Building in rural El Paso County, the Fowler Park School, the Avon Hotel in Silverton and the Fruita Bridge.

The Drennan Community School Building preservation is keeping a piece of early 1900s history in use for all residents. The 1905 Fowler Park School will be rehabilitated as a municipal building, fueled by green technology. The stately 1904 Avon Hotel will be purchased by the Mountain Studies Institute, a research and education organization that studies air quality, climate and ecology. The 1907 Fruita Bridge spans the Colorado River, forming an historic transportation link between the Fruita and points south. Named to Colorado Preservation Inc.’s Colorado’s Most Endangered List, it is the only remaining three-span Parker through-truss bridge in Colorado.

“Learning about our history and heritage becomes a powerful educational experience when people can explore and touch the actual built environment from our past,” said Mark Wolfe, director of the State Historical Fund and Colorado’s deputy state historic preservation officer.

Archaeology projects statewide are opening the worlds of pre-history to visitors. Mesa Verde National Park will be the site of a study of back-country cliff sites and culturally modified trees.

Survey and planning projects include a study of historic mining structures in San Juan County and a survey of the Bromley/Koizuma-Hishinuma Farm in Brighton, a working farm for more than 100 years that is representative of the Japanese-American farming influence in Colorado.

Other projects funded this round include the structural stabilization of three significant historic properties: the Ewing Farmhouse in Lafayette, the Loveland Feed and Grain and the ranch house at the Santa Maria Ranch in Park County. The Ewing Farmhouse is the home of the Book Arts League, which offers workshops on printing, bookbinding, paper marbling and other book arts. The Loveland Feed and Grain is an important example of Colorado’s early agricultural/industrial history. The Santa Maria Ranch house is a fine example of a hand-hewn 1870s dwelling.

Historic public buildings being rehabilitated and restored include the 1874 Georgetown School, the 1911 La Jara Town Hall and the 1917 Pueblo City Hall.

The State Historical Fund, a program of the Colorado Historical Society, awards grants to public and nonprofits to preserve Colorado’s architectural and archaeological treasures for public benefit. Program funds are provided by tax revenues from limited-stakes gaming. SHF grants have helped preserve thousands of historic schools, town halls, agricultural sites and other important resources in all 64 Colorado counties since 1993.

The application deadline for SHF’s next round of grants is April 1.

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