State awards $58K for historic preservation

THE R.I. HISTORICAL Preservation and Heritage Commission has awarded $57,900 over six grants to local historic-preservation programs. Cumberland will receive $8,000 to hire a consultant to develop design guidelines for the Ashton Village Historic District. The guidelines will contain the standards and procedures to ensure preservation, restoration, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the district’s buildings. / COURTESY RIHPHC
THE R.I. HISTORICAL Preservation and Heritage Commission has awarded $57,900 over six grants to local historic-preservation programs. Cumberland will receive $8,000 to hire a consultant to develop design guidelines for the Ashton Village Historic District. The guidelines will contain the standards and procedures to ensure preservation, restoration, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the district’s buildings. / COURTESY RIHPHC

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission has awarded $57,900 over six grants to local historic-preservation programs. Four communities will receive the funds to support a variety of activities.

They are:

  • Cumberland will receive $8,000 to hire a consultant to develop design guidelines for the Ashton Village Historic District. The guidelines will contain the standards and procedures to ensure preservation, restoration, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the district’s buildings. The 19th-century mill village is included within the boundaries of the new Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park.
  • Newport will receive and then transfer a $13,600 grant to the Preservation Society of Newport County, which will work within a partnership with Preserve Rhode Island to hire a consultant for a yearlong investigation of how historic-preservation activities impact the economy statewide.
  • North Kingstown will use $10,000 to hire a consultant to develop design guidelines for the commercial corridor of Wickford Village. The town is preparing to install sewers in parts of the historic district, and the resulting guidelines will assist residents, developers and other officials in compatible design for new or substantially altered buildings.
    North Kingstown will also receive $4,300 and transfer it to the Cocumscussoc Association, who are the stewards of Smith’s Castle. The grant will support the design and installation of outdoor, educational signs and a brochure to encourage self-guided tours of the castle grounds. The house, built in 1678, and grounds are a National Register historic site and a National Archeological Landmark.
  • Providence will receive and then delegate a $12,000 grant to the Providence Community Libraries, which will hire an architect to complete an assessment of the historic Knight Memorial Library in Elmwood. The library, constructed from 1922 to 1924, has been in continuous use since as a public library.
    The state commission also reserved $10,000 for the 2018 Rhode Island Statewide Historic Preservation Conference. A location will be announced later this year.

No posts to display