Two applicants in Northern Colorado are among 14 across the state receiving a share of $535,980 in State Historical Fund grants from History Colorado.

The Colorado State University Board of Governors received $35,505 for preservation of its archaeological collection at CSU’s Archaeological Repository, and the town of Windsor received $41,317 for window rehabilitation at the Windsor-Severance Historical Museum in Windsor’s old town hall.

Nearly 50% of projects funded in this grant round are in rural areas of the Centennial State and include rehabilitation of historic buildings, surveys to identify historically significant resources, and funding of statewide educational opportunities.

“This round of grants represent the fulfillment of established preservation plans, and the building blocks of larger projects,” Marcie Moore Gantz, State Historical Fund director, said in a prepared statement. “The construction documents, surveys and rehabilitation work being undertaken by awardees are foundational preservation efforts and highlight ways that people are innovatively using SHF funding as a vehicle for not just cultural preservation, but tourism generation, and equitable access to opportunities for Colorado’s diverse communities.”

This round of grants, known as Mini Grants, allows Colorado communities to request up to $50,000 to support preservation and archaeology projects that save the places and stories they cherish. Since 1981, preservation projects in Colorado have created more than 27,000 jobs and generated a total of nearly $3.9 billion in direct and indirect economic impacts, adding $2.2 billion to Colorado’s GDP.

History Colorado’s State Historical Fund awards grants funded by limited-stakes gaming in the towns of Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek for preservation of significant buildings, structures, objects, districts and archaeology sites in Colorado. 

A division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, History Colorado has served more than 75,000 students and 500,000 people in Colorado each year. The 143-year-old institution operates 11 museums and historic sites, a free public research center, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation which provides technical assistance, educational opportunities, and other access to archaeology and historic preservation, and the History Colorado State Historical Fund.