Heritage Barn Grants Available

The Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation is pleased to announce that we are accepting applications to request funding through the Heritage Barn Rehabilitation Grant Program are now available. Part of the state’s Heritage Barn Preservation Initiative established in 2007, the grant program assists with rehabilitation projects designed to stabilize and preserve designated Heritage Barns across the state.

Since the program’s inception, Heritage Barn Grant funding has provided assistance to 32 Heritage Barns throughout Washington. “This program has helped people save barns that otherwise would have been gone forever,” states Jerri Honeyford, Chair of the Barn Advisory Committee that oversees the initiative. “We owe a debt of gratitude to those barn owners who, through dedication and significant personal expense, continue to provide stewardship for our treasured agricultural heritage.”

Rehabilitation grants are awarded through a competitive application process: in two funding rounds, the Barn Advisory Committee has reviewed over one hundred seventy grant applications. Criteria for funding include, but are not limited to, the historical significance of the barn, urgency of needed repairs, and provision for long-term preservation. Priority is given to barns that remain in agricultural use.

“The Heritage Barn Preservation Initiative has been a popular and successful program for our agency,” noted Dr. Allyson Brooks, director of the State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation. “With 458 designated Heritage Barns located across all 39 counties statewide, the program has effectively raised awareness about the challenges facing historic barns while encouraging many owners to embark on their own barn rehabilitation projects independent of the grant program.”

Historic agricultural structures listed in the Heritage Barn Register, the Washington Heritage Register, or the National Register of Historic Places, are eligible to receive grant funds.  To be eligible for listing in the Heritage Barn Register, barns must be over 50 years old and retain a significant degree of historic integrity. All nomination/application materials related to the Heritage Barn Register and the Heritage Barn Rehabilitation Grant Program can be downloaded here.  Barn owners with questions about the program are encouraged to contact Chris Moore at (206) 624-9449 or via email at cmoore@preservewa.org.

Grant applications are due on Monday, October 17th 2011, with grant awards slated to be announced in early December 2011.  The next deadline for barn owners interested in nominating their barn to the Heritage Barn Register is October 7, 2011. 

The following barns have received grants through the Heritage Barn Grant Program:

Heritage Barn Grant Recipients: 07-09 Biennium

Garfield County Van Vogt Family Farm	Island County Sherhill Vista Farms, LLC	Island County Hall Family Farm
Kittitas County Blue Heron Farm	Klickitat County Crocker Ranch	Lewis County Boistfort Valley Farm
Lincoln County Straub Farm	Okanogan County Olson Long Ranch	Pacific County Parpala Farm
Pend Oreille County La Porte Farm	Skagit County J4 Ranch LLC	Skagit County Prevedell Farm
Snohomish County Jackknife Ranch	Spokane County Hutton Settlement	Thurston County Erickson Family Farm
Whitman County Cook Family Farm	Yakima County LaFramboise Farm	Yakima County Herke Hop Kiln
Yakima County O.J. Gendron Ranch

 

Heritage Barn Grant Recipients: 09-11 Biennium

Adams County Bar U Ranch Co.	Adams County Calf Creek Ranch	Clark County Heisen Farm
Island County Ebey Road Farm	Kittitas County NW Improvement Co. Barn	San Juan County Higgins Farm
Skagit County Andrew Johnson Farm	Skagit County Wiseman Farm	Spokane County Heathdale Ranch
Walla Walla County Reser Centennial Barn	Whitman County Heidenreich Dairy	Whitman County Old Bush Place