By Allison Perrine | aperrine@tworivertimes.com
The Monmouth County Historical Commission (MCHC) has awarded several Two River towns with grants to maintain historic treasures in 2020.
As announced at the History Regrant Awards and Historic Preservation Grant Awards ceremony Feb. 24, that includes Atlantic Highlands, Colts Neck, Fair Haven, Highlands, Little Silver, Middletown and Red Bank. The MCHC was established by the Monmouth County Freeholder Board to promote the preservation of Monmouth County history.
Additional recipients of the grant programs include Allentown, Asbury Park, Englishtown, Freehold Township, Howell Township, Manasquan, Millstone, Neptune City, Ocean Township and Wall Township.
The MCHC And Its Grant Programs
Two different grant programs are administered by the MCHC. The first is a History Regrants program funded entirely by the New Jersey Historical Commission and Department of State. Its purpose is to support county history with funding for history-based organizations’ annual operation costs and special projects.
The second program offered by the MCHC is a competitive Preservation Grant program, which helps recognize the “acute need” for funding to preserve the county’s environment, according to the MCHC. “This program provides enabling funds to serve as a model for other giving and to encourage municipal and organizational commitment.”
Funds for this matching grant program are allocated by the freeholders. Recipients include municipalities and nonprofit organizations in Monmouth County in need of financial help preserving or restoring their historic structures. The minimum amount that can be awarded for each applicant is $500 and the maximum is $7,500, according to the MCHC.
The historic societies, typically staffed by volunteers, say they are grateful for the grants. Atlantic Highlands Historical Society president Ken Frantz said the MCHC has been “a valuable and generous partner in our restoration process.”
What Grants Can Cover
According to the MCHC, grants are intended to support efforts to preserve historic sites, not adapt them. It does not fund parking lots, driveways, security systems, access adaptions or modernization, in general. Additionally, applications for money to support costs of display cases, artifacts and other furnishings like carpets or drapes are not eligible.
The commission does award grants for structural restorations of walls, doors, roofs, etc., but it does not offer grants for plumbing, heating and cooling systems and other amenities of that nature. Landscape elements like vegetation “that is known to have been planted on-site at a given period of a site’s history” are eligible as well, but general landscaping like erosion control, plantings for aesthetic purposes and more, are not.
Atlantic Highlands
The Atlantic Highlands Historical Society was awarded a $6,175 county preservation grant to help restore the Strauss Mansion second floor porch located on the Eighth Street side of the house. The house was built in 1893 by Adolph Strauss, a wealthy New York merchant, and is home to the society. The mansion has 21 rooms and its third-floor tower room provides views of the New York City skyline, the harbor and Sandy Hook.
Colts Neck
The Colts Neck Historical Preservation Committee has been awarded a $500 state regrant toward the cost of publishing a booklet documenting the township’s historic sites and structures dating back to the late 17th century. The 14 sites are identified with bronze markers, a project started by freeholder and Colts Neck resident Lillian Burry 10 years ago.
Fair Haven
In Fair Haven, the borough has received a $3,750 county preservation grant to offset the $17,000 cost to restore and paint Bicentennial Hall’s exterior. Located at 25 Cedar Ave., Bicentennial Hall, also known as the former Fisk chapel, is the oldest building in Fair Haven, according to the borough website. It was constructed in 1882 and is associated with the area’s first African American community. The structure is on the state and national historic registries.
Highlands
In Highlands, two grants were awarded to support historic preservation projects. That includes the Twin Lights Historical Society’s state regrant of $1,800 to support a part-time curator’s salary, as well as $500 for the Historical Society of Highlands’ student oral history project.
Little Silver
To help maintain and protect the historic Parker Homestead on Rumson Road, the MCHC has issued the Parker Homestead a $4,900 county preservation grant to stabilize one of its basement walls. According to Mayor Bob Neff, half of the grant will be used for the work and the other half will be split between the borough and the Parker Homestead trustees. “It’s a great opportunity because the repair is obviously needed,” he said. They also received a $1,900 regrant for general operating expenses.
At this time, no safety or structural concerns are endangering the Parker Homestead. However, “the project needs to be done and it’s a great benefit to be able to do it now while it’s not an emergency,” said Neff.
Middletown
The township’s historical society received a $500 state regrant to support its speaker series fees and publicity. According to the organization, the monies will be used to cover speaker fees and online promotion of its events. The society hosts speaker events every third Monday of each month at the Middletown Public Library.
On Feb. 17, the organization held a local history show-and-tell meet-and-greet. Residents were invited to bring interesting items and tell attendees and the society about them. Speakers are usually a mix of authors and professional and hobby historians, the society said. Its next event will be held March 16 and will feature an archaeologist talking about a recent dig in Middletown.
Red Bank
Photo by Patrick Olivero
The T. Thomas Fortune Foundation has received a $1,200 state regrant to support its African and Native American oral history project. According to Gilda Rogers, vice president of the T. Thomas Fortune Foundation, the funds will help the nonprofit capture the unknown histories of people in Red Bank and surrounding areas. This year they are focusing on relationships of Native Americans, Africans and those who were enslaved.
They have about a year to complete the project, Rogers added. The foundation received the same grant last year which helped them focus in on the African American community and horse racing, which “employed a lot of African American people,” even during slave periods, she said.
Located at 94 Drs. James Parker Blvd., T. Thomas Fortune was established to educate the public about African American experiences and the impact of T. Thomas Fortune’s life and work as a journalist, author and civil rights activist, according to the organization.
The Red Bank Library also received a $1,200 state grant to help pay for the digitization of Red Bank town directories.
The article originally appeared in the February 27- March 4, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
