- Cliff Young
The National Park Service announced it has awarded $750,000 in Underrepresented Community Grants

WASHINGTON – The National Park Service today announced it has awarded $750,000 in Underrepresented Community Grants to support the identification and nomination of sites to the National Register of Historic Places. The Underrepresented Community grant program focuses on documenting the homes, lives, landscapes, and experiences of underrepresented peoples who played a significant role in national history. FY 2019 grants will help fund 18 projects to eight states, six tribes, two local governments, the District of Columbia, and the Federated States of Micronesia.
Federal oil and gas revenues from the Outer Continental Shelf provide the lion’s share of deposits into the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), which is the source of funding for Underrepresented Community grants.
“These competitive grants will help diversify the nominations submitted to the National Register of Historic Places,” said National Park Service Deputy Director David Vela, exercising the authority of the Director. “They will provide assistance to state, tribal, and local governments to identify and preserve sites that will convey a more complete history of our country.”
Examples of projects selected for FY 2019 funding include a historic landscape nomination in the first underrepresented community grant awarded to the Federated States of Micronesia; a historic context study of women’s history in the District of Columbia; documentation of slavery in Massachusetts; and nominations of significant tribal sites in California and Washington.
Applications for $750,000 in FY 2020 funding will be available in the fall of 2020. Eligible applicants include state and tribal historic preservation offices and certified local governments.
For more information about the grants and the Underrepresented Community Grant Program, please visit https://www.nps.gov/preservation-grants/community-grants.html.
Underrepresented Community Awards:
(State, Projects, Grantee, Award)
California:
Graton Rancheria Tolay Lake Nomination
Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria
$41,500
California:
Valley Cemetery Survey and Nomination
San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians
$47,342
District of Columbia:
Historic Context Study of Women’s History and Suffrage in DC
District of Columbia Office of Planning
$50,000
Florida:
The Newtown Conservation Historic District
City of Sarasota
$50,000
Federated States of Micronesia:
Mahkontowe: A Micronesian Landscape Nomination
Federated States of Micronesia National Government
$49,840
Massachusetts:
Porter-Phelps-Huntington House and Phelps Farm National Register Update
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
$19,050
Maryland:
Historic Context Study of Asian American Communities in Maryland
Maryland Department of Planning, Maryland Historical Trust
$48,500
Michigan:
National Register Nominations for the Orsel & Minnie McGhee House and the Sojourner Truth Homes Public Housing Complex
Michigan Strategic Fund
$30,000
Mississippi:
Natchez Outbuilding Multiple Property Submission
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
$50,000
New York:
LGBT Site Nominations Project Phase 4: Nomination of Women’s History Sites
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation
$25,000
Oklahoma:
Survey and Inventory of Sac and Fox Nation sites for National Register Nominations
Sac and Fox Nation
$49,645
Oregon:
Oregon Statewide African American Multiple Property Submission
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
$30,000
Utah:
Northwestern Shoshone Survey and Inventory Project
The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation
$25,529
Virginia:
Survey and National Register Nominations for Seatack and L & J Gardens
City of Virginia Beach, Virginia
$47,187
Washington:
Filipino American Statewide Context and Survey
Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation
$50,000
Washington:
Stillaguamish Mount Higgins National Register Nomination
Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians of Washington
$46,978
Wisconsin:
Stockbridge Meetinghouse and National Register Update Project
Stockbridge-Munsee Community, Wisconsin
$39,429
Wyoming:
African American Historic Context for Wyoming as a Multiple Property Documentation Form
Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
$50,000
Total = $750,000