Funding Sources · News · Preservation

National Park Service awards more than $1.7 million in Maritime Heritage Grants

Block Island SE 2011 by JCC (8) copy
Block Island Southeast Lighthouse, RI, received a $105,000 grant for restoration of the tower’s cast iron components. Photo by Candace Clifford, 2011

WASHINGTON – The National Park Service announced today the apportionment of $1,752,073 for 27 maritime heritage grants to applicants in 13 states and the District of Columbia. In partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD), the National Park Service awarded grants for projects that teach about and preserve sites and objects related to our nation’s maritime history.

“Protecting our nation’s maritime history is an important part of the National Park Service’s mission to share America’s story,” said Acting National Park Service Director Michael T. Reynolds. “These grants will support efforts to conserve important parts of our maritime history and educate students of all ages.”

The National Maritime Heritage Program Grant awards are made possible through a partnership between the two federal agencies, which both share a commitment to maritime heritage preservation and education. They are funded through recycling of vessels from the MARAD’s National Defense Reserve Fleet. The grant program supports a broad range of maritime education and preservation projects, without expending tax dollars, while ensuring that the vessels are dismantled in an environmentally sound manner.

The National Park Service will administer these projects as direct grants to State Historic Preservation Offices, who will disburse funds to applicants. The recipients of the National Maritime Heritage grants are below. For more information about the grants and the Maritime Heritage Program, please visit www.nps.gov/martime/grants.intro.htm.

National Maritime Heritage Program Grant Recipients
California

Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation Educational Programs Interpreting Naval and Maritime History Through STEM $15,000
Channel Islands Maritime Museum The Living Brotherhood of the Tomol: Chumash Paddlers’ Active Legacy $35,562
Friends of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum Creating an Interpretive Master Plan for the tugboat Angels Gate  $40,000
Maritime Museum Association of San Diego Preservation of the Steam Ferry Berkeley $200,000
University of Southern California Maritime Discoveries along the California Coast $49,968
Total $340,530

Connecticut

Mystic Seaport Museum From Clippers to Containers $46,659
Sound Waters Maritime History Sails on Long Island Sound $43,500
University of Connecticut Creating a Blue Heritage Trail for Southeast Connecticut $22,780
Total $112,939

District of Columbia

Naval Historical Foundation Naval Documents of the American Revolution Digitization Project $49,700
Total $49,700

Florida

Diving With a Purpose Maritime Archaeology Educational Field Program II $50,000
University of Florida The Florida Shellfish Trail Website and Signage $34,332
University of West Florida Historical Trust The Pensacola Maritime Mural Gallery  $26,630
Total $110,962

Iowa

Dubuque County Historical Society Lead-Based Paint Abatement of William M. Black $66,999
Total $66,999

Illinois

Museum of Science and Industry Chicago U-505 Submarine Preservation Accessibility Expansion Project $82,277
Total $82,277

Maine

Atlantic Challenge Foundation The Apprenticeshop: Maritime Skills Program $50,000
Maine Maritime Museum Educational Exhibit about the Fresnel Lens and the Lighthouse Lantern  $42,141
Total $92,141

Maryland

Living Classrooms US Coast Guard Taney Hull Preservation Project $152,389
Total $152,389

Massachusetts 

USS Constitution Museum USS Constitution in Context: Enhancing Visitor Experience Online and Onsite $50,000
Total $50,000

New York

South Street Seaport Museum 1930 Tug W.O. Decker: Preservation of Deck and Certificate of Inspection $200,000
Stephen B Luce Library Research Foundation Telling the Stories of Sailors’ Snug Harbor $50,000
Whaling Museum Society Digitizing and Disseminating Whaling Collection Online $49,557
Total  $299,557

Ohio

Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory Enhancing Awareness and Educational Opportunities for Historic Lake Erie Lighthouses $18,540
Total $18,540

Pennsylvania

Independence Seaport Museum Cruiser Olympia Hull Repairs and Assessment Surveys $107,689
Total  $107,689

Rhode Island

South East Lighthouse Foundation Southeast Lighthouse Tower Cast Iron Restoration, Block Island $105,000
Total $105,000

Virginia

The Mariners’ Museum Expanding Analysis Capabilities for USS Monitor Conservation and Interpretation $83,350
Watermens Museum Yorktown Shipwrecks Education Program $30,000
Nauticus Foundation Battleship Wisconsin Engineering Project: Life in the Engine Room $50,000
Total $163,350

Total = $1,752,073

Submitted by Tom Crosson, July 7, 2017

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U.S. Lighthouse Society News is produced by the U.S. Lighthouse Society to support lighthouse preservation, history, education and research. Please join the U.S. Lighthouse Society if you are not already a member. If you have items of interest to the lighthouse community and its supporters, please email them to candace@uslhs.org.

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