Submitted by Thurston County Board of Commissioners
Historic preservation programs in Thurston County have been given a boost, thanks to grants authorized at the Board of County Commissioners meeting on January 9. The Board approved to fund seven grant application requests for 2018 heritage grant funding.
Funding for the grants comes under an enactment from the 2005 legislature that sets aside $1 from each $5 historic document recording fee collected by the county auditor. The grant program is managed by the Thurston County Historic Commission who review and recommend funding in compliance with guidelines established by the Commissioners.
The Thurston County Historic Commission received and ranked ten complete applications. The seven grant applications that were awarded 2018 grant funding were:
- Olympia Tumwater Foundation – Digitize and preserve still photographs, negatives and motion picture films in the Schmidt House collection, $5,000
- City of Tenino – Repair and preserve the sandstone front porch of the Tenino Quarry House, $10,000
- Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum – Evaluate and repair the front porch of the Bigelow House, $5,000
- The Sand Man Foundation – Dry dock the tug and clean, paint and replace planks on all parts of the boat, $5,000
- City of Lacey/Lacey Museum – Image and catalogue the first and only city newspaper the Lacey Leader, Phase II-B and II-C of the project, $5,000
- Gate Community Club – Repair the roof of the historic Gate City Schoolhouse, $5,000
- YWCA Olympia – Transfer historical documents to the Washington State Historical Society for preservation, $2,000
