Historic Huguenot Street Awarded Preservation Assistance Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
Includes completion of a comprehensive Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan
NEW PALTZ, NY (January 8, 2018) – Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Preservation Assistance Grant to augment emergency preparedness for the 10-acre National Historic Landmark District in the Village of New Paltz, NY. This is the second NEH grant awarded to HHS in two years.
HHS was notified of the award by U.S. Congressman John Faso’s office in early December. “We are extremely grateful for this support which helps us update and strengthen our readiness in case of severe storms, fire, and other disasters,” said Josephine Bloodgood, Director of Curatorial and Preservation Affairs. “With more than 14,000 collections pieces and seven stone houses dating to the 18th century, planning for emergency preparedness and disaster response at the site is critical. We appreciate that our representatives understand the importance of preserving our nation’s rich cultural heritage through grants like this.”
“Historic Huguenot Street is an important historical site to preserve what remains of one of the earliest Huguenot settlements here in America,” said Congressman Faso (R-NY19). “The Huguenots came to America to escape religious persecution and their experience is just one example of the life the European settlers came to North America to live. This grant will help preserve that story and ensure Historic Huguenot Street continues to live on.”
Conservator Barbara Moore will work with HHS staff to guide the effort. Moore has led a number of similar NEH-funded emergency preparedness efforts, including recently at Historic Deerfield in Massachusetts. The project at HHS entails a risk assessment for each of the historic houses and other buildings where collections are stored or displayed, completion of a comprehensive Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan, and subsequent training for HHS staff and volunteers.
About Historic Huguenot Street
A National Historic Landmark District, Historic Huguenot Street is a 501(c)3 non-profit that encompasses 30 buildings across 10 acres comprising the heart of the original 1678 New Paltz settlement, including seven stone houses dating to the early eighteenth century. Historic Huguenot Street was founded in 1894 as the Huguenot Patriotic, Historical, and Monumental Society to preserve the nationally acclaimed collection of stone houses. Since then, Historic Huguenot Street has grown into an innovative museum, chartered as an educational corporation by the University of the State of New York Department of Education, that is dedicated to protecting our historic buildings, preserving an important collection of artifacts and manuscripts, and promoting the stories of the Huguenot Street families from the seventeenth century to today.
About the National Endowment for the Humanities
Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Contact
Kaitlin Gallucci
Director of Marketing & Communications
(845) 255-1660
media@huguenotstreet.org