2024 Rhode Island Preservation Grants Awarded
Macon, Georgia
17 grant recipients announced in 9 towns
The 1772 Foundation, in the fifth year of a partnership with Preserve Rhode Island, awarded historic preservation one-for-one matching grants totaling $125,000 to seventeen private nonprofit organizations maintaining historic sites in Rhode Island. The grants ranged in amount from $2,250 to $9,000.
Grants were provided for exterior work: painting; surface restoration; fire detection/security systems; repairs to/restoration of chimneys, porches, roofs, and windows; repairs to foundations and sills; and masonry repointing. Preserve Rhode Island staff evaluated the applications and projects and also will administer the grants. Each grantee was required to have matching funds for its project.
Ethiel Garlington, executive director of The 1772 Foundation, recalled, “Our founder, Stewart Barney Kean, fell in love with historic preservation through the act of restoration. He appreciated the materials and workmanship of historic buildings. More importantly, he recognized the value of maintenance, repairs, and upgrades to ensure historic places survive for the next stewards. These grants exemplify his spirit and love of historic preservation.”
Grant recipients were Clouds Hill Museum (Warwick); Day One (Day One’s office building, Providence); Friends of Island Cemetery (Cemetery Administration Building, Newport); Hope Associates, Inc. (Howland Barn, Hope); House of Hope Community Development Corporation (Fair House, Warwick); Little Compton Community Center (Grange Hall, Little Compton); Olneyville Housing Corporation dba ONE Neighborhood Builders (Richardson-Waite House, Providence); Orlando R Smith Trust (Babcock-Smith House Museum, Westerly); Pawtuxet Valley Preservation and Historical Society (former Crompton Free Library, West Warwick); The Preservation Society of Newport County (The Breakers Stable, Newport); The Providence Art Club (Fleur De Lys Building, Providence); Rhode Island Historical Society (Aldrich House, Providence); Rhode Island Latino Arts (Central Falls); Rose Island Lighthouse & Fort Hamilton Trust (Rose Island Lighthouse, Newport); Southside Community Land Trust (Knight Dairy Barn, Providence); Tavern Hall Preservation Society (Tavern Hall aka Elisha Reynolds House, Kingstown); and Memorial and Library Association of Westerly / Westerly Library & Wilcox Park (Park Equipment Barn, Westerly). Grants were also awarded in each of the other five New England states and in Georgia.
President of The 1772 Foundation Margaret Waldock, commenting on the importance of the matching grants, said, “These bricks and mortar grants across New England and Georgia prove that small investments can have transformational results. Our statewide partners continue to demonstrate the power of historic preservation in communities in seven states. We are in awe of their work and the work of the grantees saving these fascinating places.”