FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  March 2, 2011

CONTACT:  Jeff Mammenga, Media Coordinator, (605) 773-6000, Jeff.Mammenga@state.sd.us

State Historical Society awards historic preservation grants

PIERRE, S.D. -- Historic preservation projects in Custer, Dell Rapids, Hot Springs, Kadoka and Plankinton recently received matching grants from the South Dakota State Historical Society, as announced by Jay D. Vogt, society director.

“This is the fourteenth year for this historic preservation grants program,” Vogt stated.  “In 2010 we awarded over $138,000 between 10 projects which will result in a total public-private investment of over $737,000. This program is designed to encourage restoration or rehabilitation of historic properties and is one more way we can promote and protect our history and culture.”

The grants are awarded through the State Historical Society’s Deadwood Fund grant program. Funding for the program is from Deadwood gaming revenue earmarked by state law for historic preservation projects throughout the state. The program is administered by the society’s State Historic Preservation Office at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre.

The following projects were the most recent to receive grants:

n      1881 Courthouse Museum, Custer -- $10,000 for repair of windows, soffits, and fascia and to add storm windows;

n      Odd Fellows Home, Dell Rapids -- $12,000 for repair or replacement of the roof, windows, gutters, and downspouts and drainage work on the foundation;

n      Pioneer Museum, Hot Springs -- $10,000 for tuckpointing and stone repair;

n      Mount Moriah Masonic Lodge, Kadoka -- $8,000 for repair of damaged siding and doors and to reglaze and repair windows;

n      Sweep-Van Dyke Hotel, Plankinton -- $10,000 to restore the original porch and second-story veranda.

Deadwood Fund grants are awarded twice a year, with grant application deadlines of February 1 and October 1. They are reviewed at the spring and winter meetings of the State Historical Society’s board of trustees.  For more information on Deadwood Fund grant program, contact the State Historic Preservation Office, 900 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501-2217; telephone (605) 773-3458; or website www.history.sd.gov/Preservation.

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The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of the Department of Tourism. The society is headquartered at the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. The center houses the society’s world-class museum, the archives, and the historic preservation, publishing and administrative/development offices. Call (605) 773-3458 or visit history.sd.gov for more information. The society also has an archaeology office in Rapid City; call (605) 394-1936 for more information.