Preserve Arkansas receives grant for preservation of the Bigelow Rosenwald School

February 5-11, 2018

Preserve Arkansas was awarded a $2,500 grant by the National Trust for Historic Preservation from the Arkansas Preservation Services Fund on Jan. 25, 2018. These grant funds, along with matching funds from the Rosenwald Community Cultural Center, will be used to hire a preservation architect to evaluate the current condition of the 1926 Bigelow Rosenwald School, prioritize needs, and provide cost estimates for rehabilitation.

 

Located at the southwest corner of Arkansas Highway 60 and Bethel AME Road in Perry County, Arkansas, the Bigelow Rosenwald School was constructed in 1926 as part of a national building program made possible by the Julius Rosenwald Fund to improve African American educational opportunities throughout the South. Bigelow’s school was one of 389 schools and associated buildings constructed in Arkansas with help from the Rosenwald Fund. Only 18 of those buildings remain today. The Bigelow Rosenwald School was included in Preserve Arkansas’s 2012 list of Arkansas’s Most Endangered Historic Places, making its restoration a priority for the organization.

 

“Organizations like Preserve Arkansas help to ensure that communities and towns all across America retain their unique sense of place,” said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “We are honored to provide a grant to Preserve Arkansas, which will use the funds to help preserve an important piece of our shared national heritage.”

 

Grants from the National Trust Preservation Funds generally range from $2,500 to $5,000 and have provided over $15 million since 2003. These matching grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations and public agencies across the country to support wide-ranging activities including consultant services for rehabilitating buildings, technical assistance for tourism that promotes historic resources, and the development of materials for education and outreach campaigns.

 

For more information on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Fund grants, visit: http://forum.savingplaces.org/build/funding

 

About Preserve Arkansas

 

Preserve Arkansas is the only statewide nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of Arkansas’s historic and cultural resources. Preserve Arkansas works to build stronger communities by reconnecting Arkansans to our heritage and empowering people to save and rehabilitate historic places. For more information, please visit www.PreserveArkansas.org or call 501-372-4757.

 

About the National Trust for Historic Preservation

 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately-funded nonprofit organization that works to save America’s historic places to enrich our future. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is committed to protecting America’s rich cultural legacy and helping build vibrant, sustainable communities that reflect our nation’s diversity. Follow us on Twitter @savingplaces.

 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded nonprofit organization, works to save America’s historic places.

 

Source: Preserve Arkansas  

 

PHOTO CAPTION:

 

Constructed in 1926, the Bigelow Rosenwald School was on Preserve Arkansas’s list of Arkansas’s Most Endangered Historic Places in 2012. The grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation will help make restoration possible. (Photo provided)