North Liberty’s Ranshaw House could see updates with potential grant

Area officials are hopeful a state grant will provide the necessary funds to complete interior renovations to one of North Liberty's oldest homes.

On Tuesday, the North Liberty City Council will vote on a resolution of support for an application to the Historical Resource Development Grant program, offered through the State Historical Society of Iowa, to fund updates to the Ranshaw House, 515 W. Penn St.

With Johnson County Historical Society as the applicant, the grant is seeking $75,000, with the city pledging an additional $50,000 if the grant is approved.

Tracey Mulcahey, Assistant City Administrator, said the money would greatly help restore the house's flooring and walls and install accessible bathrooms. In recent years, grant funds have been dedicated to the building's roof and exterior.

'I'm anxious to get the interior to match the exterior and be able to show it off to the public,” Mulcahey said. 'I'm ready for us to be able to start showcasing this, which we've worked on for so long.”

Built in 1908, the Samuel and Emma A. Ranshaw House was originally eyed for demolition in the early 2000s to make way for parking for the North Liberty's nearby community center, but the city purchased the house in 2004 with plans to restore it. In September 2012, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The addition of the house to the national registry opened the door to future grant money, such as the Historic Resource Development Grant.

'It does help a lot to get more assistance for historic sites that are listed on the register,” said Alexandra Drehman, executive director and curator with the Johnson County Historical Society.

Grant recipients will be announced later this summer.

Balancing grant dollars and city funds in restoring the Ranshaw house has been a top priority. About $90,000 has been spent on the house in the last five years - of that, $60,000 was grant money and $10,000 came from donations. The remaining $20,000 came from the city.

'That was part of the charge here, to pay for as much as possible with grant money,” Mulcahey said, noting that doing so admittedly slowed progress down a little bit, but added that the end is in sight.

'This grant would be another huge chunk toward the end result,” she said.

Later this summer, the Ranshaw House will be host to North Liberty's Summer Lunch and Fun Program, which will provide free lunch and activities for kids from June 8 through August 14.

Down the road, landscaping and parking will be added to the property and another coat of paint will go on the house's exterior, Mulcahey said.

North Liberty Mayor Amy Nielsen said keeping that history not only intact, but available to the public is important, especially in a community as young and as rapidly growing as North Liberty.

'I just think it's important that people have a chance to learn the history of where they live,” she said. 'To be able to have something from the past like that, that is in good shape and structurally sound ... to show where we came from is really important.”