FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  June 27, 2011

CONTACT:  Jason Haug, Jason.Haug@state.sd.us, 605-773-6296

State Historical Society awards historic preservation grants

PIERRE, S.D. -- Historic preservation projects in Aberdeen, Baltic, Yankton and Whitewood recently received matching grants from the South Dakota State Historical Society, as announced today by Jay D. Vogt, director of the society.

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.

“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 following projects were the most recent to receive Deadwood Fund grants:

n      Webb’s Shoe Company Building, Aberdeen, $10,000 for façade restoration;

n      Hans J. Hilmoe Barn, Baltic, $10,000 for roof and siding repair and stabilization of the foundation and the hayloft floor;

n      Mead Building, Human Services Center, Yankton, $25,000 for repair of the clay tile roof;

n      The Jones Building, Whitewood, $10,000 for tuckpointing.

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

-30-

The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of the Department of Tourism. The Department of Tourism is comprised of Tourism, the South Dakota Arts Council, and the State Historical Society. The Department is led by Secretary James D. Hagen. The State Historical 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 www.history.sd.gov for more information. The society also has an archaeology office in Rapid City; call (605) 394-1936 for more information.