I had a quiet Easter and enjoyed getting outside in the beautiful late Spring weather. Take advantage of it while it lasts, because it won’t last much longer.
Over the weekend, I checked in on the MDAH website and found that this year’s Certified Local Government grants have been announced after being voted on by the MDAH Board of Trustees. The CLG grants are small annual pass-through funds from the National Park Service through MDAH, and generally focus on surveys of historic districts, National Register nominations, planning documents for renovation projects, brochures, and other projects that help boost preservation on the local level. This year, 16 projects received grants, for a total of more than $73,000.
We’ll keep you updated on these projects as we hear about them in the coming year.
According to MDAH, the 2011 grants are as follows:
Aberdeen, $5,603.42, to continue interior restoration of the M&O Depot, including wiring, duct work, and insulation for the east side of the building. Previous work has been completed by the assistance of past CLG Grant funds.
Aberdeen, $4,000, to add historic district signage and create a walking tour brochure for Aberdeen’s Silk Stocking Row residential historic district.
Baldwyn, $1,800, to research, write and design a brochure describing the Baldwyn’s National Register designated properties and to erect directional signs at main intersections within the district.
Carthage, $3,525, to hire a consultant to conduct a Historic Resources Survey of approximately 155 structures. The project also includes the completion of a National Register Historic District nomination based on the results of the survey.
Greenville-Washington County, $2,250, to hire a consultant to write an amendment to expand the boundaries of the existing Greenville Commercial National Register Historic District. The expansion will be based on the results of the current survey project being conducted with the assistance of FFY 2010 grant funds.
Hattiesburg, $8,000, to conduct an architectural/historic survey of Hattiesburg’s Central Business District, including the established Hub City National Register District. The project will also include a National Register nomination to expand the district.
Hazlehurst, $2,500, to help develop Design Guidelines for the Hazlehurst Historic District.
Hernando, $1,200, to produce two National Register nominations, one for the North Elm Street Historic District and one for Springhill Cemetery.
Jackson, $25,000, to survey approximately 1000 structures, identify the qualified boundaries, and write the National Register District nomination for the Belhaven Historic District.
Laurel, $5,000, to produce a brochure containing historic landmarks and points of interest in downtown Laurel. The project will include an interactive online version as well to help raise awareness of the city’s many significant structures.
McComb, $1,600, to complete a historic survey of approximately 140 structures in the area between 4th Street on the east, 6th Street on the west, Delaware Avenue on the north, and Pennsylvania Avenue on the south. This is a continuation of a FFY 2010 project.
Natchez, $2,000, to create a brochure about living in Historic Natchez, including information on historic ordinances, tax-credits, and utilities. A historic map will also be included. It will be available at City Hall, local realtor offices, and on the City’s website.
Starkville, $4,000, to develop Design Review Guidelines for the City of Starkville. The Guidelines will assist the Historic Preservation Commission in educating property owners about what exterior changes are appropriate for historic structures in the city.
Starkville, $1,085, to update the Overstreet School survey and make changes, corrections, and additions where appropriate in order to have an accurate survey of the area for local district designation.
Vicksburg, $4,275, to survey approximately 185 structures along Martin Luther King Street to the National Military Park, all of Sky Farm Avenue, Lovers Lane and Skyvale.
Woodville, $1,949.58, to create a new, full-color, composite brochure for Woodville and Wilkinson County that will market the historic and cultural heritage sites of the community.
Categories: Aberdeen, Baldwin, Carthage, Grants, Greenville, Hattiesburg, Hazlehurst, Hernando, Jackson, Laurel, McComb, Natchez, Starkville, Vicksburg, Woodville
Preservation in Mississippi 
The Natchez brochure sounds interesting. Has anyone ever heard of a similar brochure created for any other city in the state? I hope we can see some of it’s highlights on MissPres when it’s done.
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I know that other cities and towns have brochures for tourists (similar to ones that are described as projects for some of the CLGs this year) but I don’t know of one that is targeted for property owners the way the Natchez one is described. It’s a great idea though – I can see it being useful to realtors as well so that they can address concerns of their clients who might be purchasing in an historic district.
There’s a lot of survey & National Register nomination related work this year. Consultants are going to be busy.
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Very cool. Frankly, they seem to be stretching the dollars pretty well. Surveying 1,000 residences in Belhaven for $ 25,000 is a mere $25/each!
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I guess I didn’t mention it here, but these grants are 50-50 propositions, so presumably, the total project cost for that Belhaven survey would be $50,000 or more, and it includes a National Register nomination, which would be a doozy to write for that many structures!
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