[Massplanners] Updates from the Massachusetts Historical Commission

[Doherty, Jennifer @ SEC]

Now Accepting Applications for Round 30 of the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund
The MHC is pleased to announce Round 30 of the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund (MPPF) grant program. It is anticipated that funding for Round 30 will be in the range of $1,000,000.

The MPPF is a state-funded 50% reimbursable matching grant program established in 1984 to support the preservation of properties, landscapes, and sites (cultural resources) listed in the State Register of Historic Places. Applicants must be a municipality or nonprofit organization.

Historic cultural resources in public and nonprofit ownership and use frequently suffer from deferred maintenance, incompatible use, or are threatened by demolition. These important resources represent a significant portion of the Commonwealth’s heritage. By providing assistance to historic cultural resources owned by nonprofit or municipal entities, we hope to ensure their continued use and integrity. The program is administered in accordance with 950 CMR 73.00.

Please note that grant disbursement is subject to reauthorization of the capital accounts and the availability of sufficient allocated funds.

Applications are due March 15, 2024. Visit our MPPF page<https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcmppf/mppfidx.htm> for more information, including the application and virtual information sessions scheduled for January.


New Grant Program to Support Maritime Heritage Education Projects in Massachusetts
The MHC is among the recipients of 2023 Maritime Heritage Grants<https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/maritime-grants-3-16-23.htm> awarded by the National Park Service (NPS) to State Historic Preservation Offices. These grants are made possible through a partnership between NPS and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD). The program does not use federal tax dollars and instead is funded by recycling vessels from the MARAD's National Defense Reserve Fleet. MHC received $242,500 to administer the MHC Maritime Heritage Education Subgrant Program.

The MHC Maritime Heritage Education Subgrant Program will be a competitive grant program made available to local governments, nonprofit organizations, and tribal entities to advance maritime heritage through public education and to expand public access to maritime history via multiple educational platforms.

The proposed education projects should have a basic goal of teaching the maritime heritage of Massachusetts and facilitating learning and research in the field. Activities should focus on curation, instruction, and interpretation of the three broad categories of historic maritime resources; maritime heritage collections, traditional maritime skills, and historic maritime properties.

Eligible project examples include -- but are not limited to – hands-on programs with the use of traditional maritime skills and tools, virtual workshops, online tours, public access to maritime history through website development, development of software application with interactive stories and games, interpretive signage, walking tours, podcasts, oral histories, story maps, exhibitions, lecture series, shipwright workshops, a digitized catalog of maritime history and minor improvements to existing educational facilities and exhibit spaces.

The subgrants will have a 1:1 matching requirement. Each federal dollar must be matched by one non-federal dollar. Match may be in the form of cash or in-kind donations of time, goods, or services. Applicants can request from $10,000 to $50,000 for total project costs of $20,000 to $100,000. Applicants must obtain and provide a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) issued by the System for Award Management<https://usfcr.com/sam-registration/> (SAM) to identify entities that do business with the federal government.

Applications will be available in January 2024 and posted to the MHC’s website. Award notifications are anticipated to be in April 2024. Projects must be completed by September 30, 2025.

Please view the NPS Maritime Heritage Program website<https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1220/maritimeheritage.htm> to learn more about maritime grants and how the program works to foster awareness and appreciation of the many roles waterways and their adjacent lands have played in America's history.

If you have questions or would like to discuss a potential project with MHC’s grant staff, please reach out to MHCMaritimeGrants at sec.state.ma.us<mailto:MHCMaritimeGrants at sec.state.ma.us>.


Other Funding Opportunities
These grants are not offered nor administered by the MHC. Please contact the individual organizations if you have questions or are interested in applying.


·         National Fund for Sacred Places<https://fundforsacredplaces.org/>, accepting letters of intent beginning January 9, 2024

·         National Trust Preservation Funds<https://savingplaces.org/preservation-funds>, applications due February 1, 2024

·         Essex National Heritage Area Partnership Grant Program<https://essexheritage.org/programs/partnership-grants/>, applications due February 23, 2024


MHC’s Spring 2024 Virtual Workshops
MHC’s Local Government Programs Coordinator, Jenn Doherty, hosts a regular series of virtual workshops on topics important to local historical and historic district commission members and municipal staff. See below for upcoming workshops; new workshops are posted in the spring and fall. View and register for the full list of spring 2024 workshops on the MHC’s website<https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcotr/otridx.htm>.

Introduction to Historic Preservation, Tuesday, January 30, 2024 at 10 am

Architectural Styles, Forms, and Building Technologies of Massachusetts, Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 1 pm

Establishing Local Historic Districts, Monday, March 25, 2024 at 1 pm

Developing an Historic Preservation Plan, Friday, April 26, 2024 at 10 am


Duxbury’s Sampson-White Joiner Shop Designated a National Historic Landmark
On December 13, 2023, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland designated 16 new National Historic Landmarks (NHLs)<https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/interior-secretary-haaland-designates-18-new-sites-of-natural-historical-significance.htm>, including the Sampson-White Joiner Shop in Duxbury.

NHLs are some of the nation’s most historically important buildings, sites, structures, objects and districts, which communicate themes in history, archeology, architecture, engineering and cultural significance. NHL designation is the highest federal recognition of a property’s historical, architectural, or archeological significance, and a testament to the dedicated stewardship of many private and public property owners who seek this designation. The newly designated NHLs in locations across the country join a select group of more than 2,600 noteworthy places that possess exceptional value in illustrating the history of the United States. There are 192 NHLs in Massachusetts.

An intact, extant example of a unique building type, the Sampson-White Joiner Shop was constructed in the late 18th century and used through the first half of the 19th century as a woodworking shop. The shop building includes fixtures and other features typical of the trade, such as work benches, tool racks, and storage space for lumber. It is perhaps the only surviving example of a building type that largely disappeared from the landscape in the mid-19th century with industrialization and changes in building construction technology. Please note that the building is privately owned and is not open to the public.


Recent Listings in the National Register of Historic Places

·         Attleboro, Robinson Building

·         Boston (Roxbury), Elm Hill Avenue – Georgia Street – Cheney Street Historic District

·         Boston (Roxbury), Homestead Street Apartments Historic District

·         Boston (Downtown), Parker House

·         Boston (Fenway), Repertory Theatre of Boston

·         Cambridge, John Winthrop Chambers

·         Fall River, Ashworth Brothers Mill

·         Framingham, Nobscot Union Chapel

·         Framingham, R.H. Long Company Factory

·         Lynn, Lynn Item Building

·         Worcester, Worcester Young Women’s Christian Association


Recent Local Historic Districts/Local Landmarks

·         Boston (Kenmore Square), Hotel Buckminster

·         Boston (North End), Nazzaro Community Center

·         Worcester, Elm Park Neighborhood Local Historic District


Membership or Officer Changes? Update the MHC!
Please be sure to send in any changes to your commission’s membership or officers to Jennifer Doherty, Local Government Programs Coordinator, at Jennifer.Doherty at sec.state.ma.us<mailto:Jennifer.Doherty at sec.state.ma.us>.


Jennifer B. Doherty
Local Government Programs Coordinator
Massachusetts Historical Commission
220 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125-3314
Office: (617) 727-8470
Remote: (617) 807-0685
Jennifer.Doherty at sec.state.ma.us<mailto:Jennifer.Doherty at sec.state.ma.us>

Register for virtual workshops<https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcotr/otridx.htm>

As of August 1, 2023, emails to Jennifer.Doherty at state.ma.us will no longer be delivered. Please update your contact information.

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