(Columbus, OH): The Ohio History Connection is pleased to announce that it has awarded ten organizations History Fund grants. The History Fund is a competitive matching grants program that is one of four “tax check-off” funds found on Ohio’s income tax forms and funded entirely through Ohio taxpayers’ voluntary contributions.
“The History Fund is about preserving and sharing Ohio’s heritage by supporting local projects and programs that strengthen Ohio history,” said Burt Logan, executive director and CEO for the Ohio History Connection. “Ohio taxpayers’ support reinforce that the History Fund as a worthy program that helps organizations and historical societies fund the projects important to their communities. For just $8 — the average donation — Ohioans are helping to preserve their history.”
The Ohio History Connection’s History Fund had $110,000 to grant and awarded 10 grants to organizations throughout Ohio. It received 64 applications requesting a total of $788,000 in grant-funding, underscoring the importance of this grant program to local organizations and historical societies throughout Ohio.
The ten recipients of the 2014 History Fund grant program are:
Cuyahoga County Planning Commission (Cleveland) received $16,500 to undertake an architectural and historical survey of dwellings, mostly single-family, constructed from 1945-1969 to identify districts eligible for listing on the National Register and to assist the county’s communities in their local preservation efforts.
Dayton History received $18,000 to preserve, digitize, and make available the majority of the William Preston/Marvin Christian Photograph and Negative Collection. This locally and nationally significant collection includes some of the world’s first aerial photographs, taken from early Wright Flyers, as well as scenes of Dayton life.
Dayton Society of Natural History received $16,000 to reconstruct the thatched roof of Big House, the central exhibit of SunWatch Indian Village/Archeological Park, a National Historic Landmark. The project will enable SunWatch to again use the Big House for school and public programs and will be conducted while SunWatch is open to the public, allowing visitors to watch the construction process.
Historic New Richmond received $7,000 for a historic preservation project undertaken by a volunteer-operated local historical society.This project, the third and final phase of a ten year effort, will repair the Ross-Gowdy House Museum’s windows and replace its box gutters. The success of the first two phases of the project and Historic New Richmond’s adherence to the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties are especially notable.
McKinley Presidential Library & Museum (Canton) received $3,700 to conserve two dresses that belonged to First Lady Ida McKinley. Once repaired, it will be possible to display the dresses and provide a superior case when not on display. The project is part of a long-range plan to preserve 20 dresses that once belonged to First Lady McKinley in the museum’s collection.
Ross County Historical Society (Chillicothe) received $10,000 for the purchase of textile storage cabinets for the Society’s new collection facility. The cabinets and new facility will make it possible to store a historic clothing collection under optimal conditions that will both meet best practices for textile care and make the collection more accessible for exhibition and study.
Slavic Village Development (Cleveland) received $18,000 to install a new roof on the Viola Building, which is the first phase of an effort to stabilize and rehabilitate the structure in an emerging, affordable, and diverse neighborhood. The Viola Building serves as an anchor of the National Register-listed Broadway Historic District and the Slavic Village neighborhood. A new roof, conforming to the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, will enable Slavic Village to return the building to commercial and residential uses.
Summit County Historical Society (Akron) received $8,500 to assist the Society in its long-term effort to renew its collection management capabilities prior to Akron’s Bicentennial in 2025. The grant will fund the purchase of updated collections management software, the cataloging of collections in the Society’s new facility, and new shelving for the maintenance of collections. The project will increase the Society’s ability to draw on its rich collections for exhibits and public programs as well as enlarge its capacity to accept new donations of collections.
Williams County Records Center (Bryan) received $3,800 to hire a consultant to conduct an assessment of Williams County’s local government archives. The consultant will offer the Center guidance in the stewardship of the county’s archives and address topics such as digitization, preservation planning, and disaster planning. With the consultant’s report in place, the county will be able to insure that its records, useful to a variety of citizens, will continue to be safe and accessible.
Worthington Historical Society received $8,500 to replace deteriorated roof sections of the Society’s circa 1812 Orange Johnson House, a listed National Register building. The repaired roof, rehabilitated in accordance with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, will enable the Society to continue to preserve and share the community of Worthington’s history and to interpret life in early nineteenth-century central Ohio.
About the History Fund: The History Fund was created to support the preservation and sharing of Ohio’s heritage by funding local and statewide projects, programs, and events related to the broad sweep of the state’s history. Funded by Ohio taxpayers using the “tax check-off” on their Ohio tax returns, the Fund is a competitive grant program that requires applicants to have matching funding sources. The Ohio History Connection administers the History Fund and cannot apply for a grant. For more information about the History Fund grant program and how to apply, visit ohiohistory.org/historyfund or contact the Ohio History Connection’s Local History Office, 1-800-858-6878, (614) 297-2340, or [email protected].
