The New Jersey Historic Trust has awarded over $1 million in grant funds to state-wide historic preservation initiatives. The grants cover projects in seventeen of New Jersey’s twenty-one counties. Twenty-nine of the grants have been awarded for assessment projects. These grants – up to $50,000 – will help organizations and municipal entities plan preservation of the built environment, including developing archaeological excavations, condition assessments, and historic structure reports. Sites selected for these grants include libraries, fire stations, farms, private residences, and entire historic districts. All are eligible to be listed on the National and New Jersey State Registers of Historic Places.
The remaining four grants will be used to enhance visitor experience at historic sites, including Gloucester County’s George Mason Stone House. Funds will help the curators of the sites plan interpretive signs and investigate historical tourism potential. All grants issued will require matching funds from recipient organizations and entities.
Funding for the grants were raised through the Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund, created by a state constitutional amendment in 2016. The voter-approved fund, a continuation of the earlier Garden State Historic Trust Fund and Historic Preservation Bond Program, draws revenues from the state corporate business taxes and is part of a New Jersey initiative to promote growth through revitalization of historic properties and districts. Since 1990, $145 million has been dedicated to historic preservation projects across the Garden State through these initiatives.
A legislative appropriations bill and the Governor’s approval are required before the funds will be available for use. For a full list of grant recipients, see the New Jersey Historic Trust’s press release (link opens as a PDF file).