Eastern Iowa organizations receive state grants for preservation projects

The State Historical Society of Iowa has awarded nearly $600,000 in grants to preserve Iowa’s historical collections and country schools, invest in communities through historic preservation, and promote Iowa history.

The grants support 26 projects in 24 Iowa communities, from Orange City to Burlington and Greenfield to Decorah. Funding comes from the State Historical Society’s Country School Grant Program and the Historical Resource Development Program, funded through the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program.

“Today’s grant recipients have a strong connection to the history of our state and we’re delighted to partner with them to preserve our past,” State Historical Society of Iowa Administrator Susan Kloewer said. “Their passion and commitment to Iowa history will inspire the next generation of Iowans to make sure our state’s legacy lives on. Congratulations to this year’s grant recipients.”

The Country School Grant program helps to preserve or maintain Iowa's one- or two-room country schools or to provide historical interpretation or educational activities related to the school.

The Historical Resource Development Program grants help preserve, conserve, interpret, enhance and educate the public about historic preservation, museum collections and documentary collections.

A list of grant recipients in Eastern Iowa:

Cedar Rapids

The St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids received $16,000 to renovate two rooms (originally Sunday school rooms) to their original state and create an inviting place for the public and congregation to view and explore the church’s archival materials and history, which dates to the 1850s.

Iowa City

Public Space One in Iowa City received $23,842 to repair and preserve its exterior wooden architectural elements and unique characteristics of the Italianate style on the Close House. The Close House is a valuable and rare example of Italianate architecture and of Iowa City's industrial history.

Amana

The Amana Heritage Society received a $5,650 grant for its Media Collection Digitization Project Phase III. The organization will use the grant to digitize film reels and audiotapes, which include people from Amana's Communal Era (1855-1932). The recordings will be used in exhibits and videos to offer insight into life in Amana as it transitioned from its communal roots to a more modern lifestyle.

The Amana Heritage Society also received $7,000 for its Homestead General Store Collections Inventory Project. The money will be used to inventory and clean the museum collections stored in the historic Homestead General Store building before transforming it into the Amana Heritage Society's Folk Art Museum.

Decorah

The Winneshiek County Historical Society in Decorah received $7,010 to prepare and tuck-point exterior bricks with lime-based mortar. The work will preserve the north facade (Phase 1) of the historic 1860 soft-brick building for future generations.

Elgin

The Elgin Historical Society received $25,500 to rehabilitate existing primary windows and install new storm windows in the Elgin Historical Museum. The results will increase energy efficiency and protect artifacts in “Tribes of the Turkey River Interpretive Center,” a future exhibit that honors the Indigenous history of the Turkey River Valley.

Mount Vernon

The Mount Vernon/Lisbon Community Charitable Development Group received $11,305 to help preserve the Mount Vernon Visitors Center’s masonry by removing and replacing deteriorated mortar, tuckpointing the whole structure and repairing stone window sills. The center was originally constructed in 1912 to serve as medical offices.

Spillville

The Bily Clocks Museum & Antonin Dvorak Exhibit in Spillville received $24,501. The funding will be used to install a new HVAC system that will create a more appropriate temperature and humidity environment for preserving and protecting irreplaceable hand-carved wooden clocks, organs played by Dvorak, and other wood collections.

Tipton

Cedar County Historical Society in Tipton received $18,295 to digitize newspaper microfilm of the Tipton Advertiser, Advertiser & Gazette, Conservative & Gazette, Conservative & Advertiser (1853-2012) and the Tipton Conservative (1940-1943). It also will microfilm and digitize the Tipton Conservative (1890-1940) and Tipton Conservative & Advertiser (2012-2021).

Wilton

Wilton Historic Preservation Commission received $17,500 to hire a historian to conduct a survey of two potential historic districts in Wilton. The historian and volunteers will research properties and educate the community about the benefits of districts being listed on the National Register of Historic Places.