CONCORD, NH – Building preservation projects across the state, from Atkinson to Coos County, will share $125,000 in grants to support exterior upgrades and infrastructure.
The grant awards from the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, in partnership with the 1772 Foundation, were for 17 nonprofit projects, including the new home of the Granite State Children’s Alliance Child Advocacy Center of Manchester, at 607 Chestnut St.
The funding announced Tuesday will support exterior projects, including new roofs, masonry repointing, trim repair, repainting, windows restoration, as well as fire detection and security systems. In some cases, the grants will advance multi-phase projects, while in others the money will help a nonprofit get started or complete important maintenance and repair work, NH Preservation said in the news release announcing the grant awards.
Awards range from $2,500 to $10,000, and each grantee is required to provide 1:1 matching funds. The 1772 Foundation grants in New Hampshire over the last five years have supported 91 rehabilitation and restoration projects, according to the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance.
“We are so pleased to be able to make these grants to worthy projects across the state,” said Beverly Thomas, deputy director of the N.H. Preservation Alliance. “This year, The 1772 Foundation’s investment in New Hampshire is protecting and revitalizing seventeen historic buildings, positively impacting communities by bringing needed capital investment to important community landmarks.”
This year’s New Hampshire grantees span 250 years, from a 1664 timber-framed house in Portsmouth to the 1911 New Hampshire Historical Society headquarters building in Concord. Uses include affordable housing, community meeting space, nonprofit headquarters, history museums, historical societies, a library, and a community center. Five of the awardees were named over the years to the Preservation Alliance’s annual Seven to Save endangered properties list.
The Rhode Island-based 1772 Foundation partners with historic preservation organizations in the six New England states, New York and Georgia, on the program, which first awarded grants in 2020.
““Our benefactor, Stuart Barney Kean, had a simple mandate for The 1772 Foundation – to preserve historic structures,” said Ethiel Garlington, executive director of The 1772 Foundation. “These modest bricks and mortar grants across seven states are a powerful example of fulfilling his legacy. We are thrilled to see our 2025 grants leverage additional funds and keep buildings functional and relevant.”
Applications were reviewed by a selection committee of experts and New Hampshire Preservation Alliance staff. Criteria included the uniqueness or significance of the resource, imminence or severity of threat, availability of additional funding, a demonstrated understanding of the building’s needs, and the proposed plan’s adherence to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. The application period for the 2026 grants opens later this year.
The grantees are:
$10,000, Granite State Children’s Alliance, 607 Chestnut St., Manchester, 1874. Fire detection and suppression system, part of a $2 million rehabilitation of the historic Straw mansion that the nonprofit bought in 2024 using American Rescue Plan Act money. The building will be used as the Child Advocacy Center of Manchester, which provides behavioral health services for children who have experienced trauma.
GSCA officials have said that the new space will allow them to expand services and shorten the waiting lists for children in need of timely support at the busiest Child Advocacy Center in the state. Renovations will include two interview suites and facilities for specialized medical exams. The upgrades are essential for providing comprehensive care without cost to the families who use the services, they said.
“The nonprofit group is not only committed to their mission of child advocacy, but also to maintaining the historic integrity of this significant 1874 property while adapting it to accommodate their non-profit operations,” the news release about the grant said.
The house was built by Herman Straw, son of former governor Ezekiel Straw, the first of three generations of Straws to run the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, at one time the largest textile manufacturing complex in the world.
“Transforming this beloved historic building into a Child Advocacy Center means turning a place full of history into a place full of hope — where children can find safety, support, and the strength to heal,” said Joy Barrett, CEO, of Granite State Children’s Alliance.
$10,000 Historic Harrisville Inc., Cheshire Mill Dam, Harrisville, 1820. Repairs to the dam’s fore-bay and spillway that will arrest the adverse effects to the three adjacent mill buildings at this National Historic Landmark site.
“This historic dam ‘arguably created the Village of Harrisville,’ the country’s oldest intact mill village,” according to the release. “The dam is an integral feature of the waterway that is a focal piece of the town, and the water source for the hydroelectric turbine which produces green energy for the mill operations, General Store and daycare center operated by Historic Harrisville in the village. “
The Cheshire Mills Dam Repair Project “is a crucial fix to a historic site in the center of this National Landmark town,” said John Knight, executive director, Historic Harrisville Inc. “The spillway of the dam has been damaged, and these repairs will ensure the structure will continue to control the water flow under the mill buildings and make possible renewable energy generation by our water turbine.”
$10,000, Laconia Historical and Museum Society, 65 Water S. Laconia, 1894. The money will be used to replace the “deteriorated and leaking roof” of the former foundry building.
“The need is critical as the building is currently occupied by tenants supporting operational expenses on the first floor and storage of the society’s archival collections on the second floor,” the release said.
The replacement is part of the first project on the society’s Legacy of Laconia Heritage Preservation Campaign, an initiative dedicated to repairing and upgrading the society’s collections.
“The roof project for the Laconia Historical & Museum Society’s archive building is important because replacing the roof will significantly contribute to protecting and preserving the story of Laconia,” said Tara Shore, society president. Doing that will ensure “that we, along with future generations, can continue to learn about the people, places, and events that have shaped Laconia.”
$10,000, Littleton Community Center, Eastman House Carriage Barn, Littleton, 1884. The money will be used to replace the barn roof, and repair and repaint other architectural elements, a “first and important step” in restoring the building’s roof and exterior. The building was listed as a Seven to Save in 2012.
The former Tavern Hotel in downtown Laconia was acquired by the Laconia Housing and Redevelopment Authority in 1996 and converted into 50 low-income elderly housing units. The funding will repair and repaint the wood architectural elements of the stucco building on its two primary facades – trim, casing and paneling around windows and doors, roof fascia and corbels, entry porches, columns, and the two towers at the roof. The work is “a visible and important first step in the restoration of the building’s exterior.”
Kathleen Smith, president of the community center board of trustees, said the work will enable the center to reopen the building for community use.
$10,000, Historic New England, Jackson House, Portsmouth, 1664. The grant will support foundation repointing to improve the structural integrity and stability of the foundation and to seal it from water and pest infiltration.
The Jackson House, a National Historic Landmark, is the oldest timber-framed house in the state. It was acquired by antiquarian William Sumner Appleton in 1924 from a member of the seventh generation of Jacksons to live there.
“Completing this project will significantly improve the resiliency of the oldest surviving wood-frame house in New Hampshire,” said Katherine Pomplum, institutional giving officer, Historic New England.
$10,000, Acworth Historical Society, Acworth Village Store, Acworth, 1865. The grant will pay for roof replacement at the purpose-built general store. The town’s only grocery store and eatery was bought In 2001 by the Acworth Historical Society when the owner retired. The aim was to keep the store that had operated continuously for 136 years from closing. The Acworth Community Project was formed, and partners with the AHS to operate the store as a nonprofit. Income from the second-floor housing unit also helps sustain the ongoing use of the building.
“The Preservation Alliance has been a major supporter of Acworth’s historic resources for more than 20 years,” said Helen Frink, vice [resident, Acworth Historical Society. Frink said the roof replacement “is a critical first step in a multi-phase project to rehabilitate this community landmark for flood resilience and energy efficiency.”
$7,500, Atkinson Historical Society, Center School, Atkinson, 1880. The grant will pay for clapboard repair and painting, matching a Land and Community Heritage Investment Program grant.
The Center School is the one remaining one-room school house in Atkinson, and operated as a school from 1880 to 1949. It was the town police station once the school moved out, then a family mediation center. It was slated to be torn down in 2020, but the historical society got it listed on the New Hampshire State Register and launched a preservation. Plans are to use it as a town history museum and activity center, and it will be a “convenient resource” for the students of Atkinson Academy across the street.
$7,500, Enfield Shaker Museum, Bretheren’s West Shop, Enfield, 1820. The grant will pay for clapboard repair and in-kind replacement and exterior painting using the original ochre color determined by paint analysis, the final phase of a six-year comprehensive rehabilitation.
The building is one of the oldest remaining buildings on Enfield Shaker Museum’s “nationally significant” campus and one of two remaining brothers’ work buildings. The Shakers used it as a workshop to produce items including scoops, ladles, farm tools, and grain measures. Its most important feature is the second-floor living quarters of Brother Franklin Young (1845-1935), decorated by him in Renaissance Revival style, including the painted ceiling. The building provides the museum with a perfect setting to interpret both classic Shaker style, as well as the less understood late Victorian style, according to the release.
$7,500, Upper Saco Valley Land Trust, Ham House, Jackson, 1810. The grant will pay for window restoration and installation of early-19th century windows. The homestead in a “remote area” of the White Mountains has never had electricity or indoor plumbing, according to the release. The property was listed as one of 2024’s Seven to Save by NH Preservation.
“By highlighting the connection of the surviving farmhouse to the land,” a grass-roots group saved it from demolition by advocating that the 1.6-acre lot be subdivided the local land trust, which owns the surrounding 1,250 acres. The group has already completed initial stabilization of the house with foundation repairs and sill replacement.
The Ham House “a traditional northern hillside cape, persists as an echo in time after surviving 65 years of abandonment and slated demolition,” said Anne Pillion, of the Ham House Committee. “This farmhouse is an important example of the intersection of land conservation and historic preservation, and is now building a bridge from a rich agrarian history to a new and repurposed future.”
$7,500, Jackson Historical Society, Jackson Town Hall, Jackson, 1880. The grant will pay for exterior painting after the building is placed on a new foundation. The building one of NH ’reservation’s 2024 Seven to Save properties.
The historical society’s town-owned home has sustained Increasingly frequent episodes of high water from the adjacent Wildcat River, which as severely eroded the riverbank and threatens to undermined the building’s foundation. On its other side, snow, sand and salt build-up from the main road is damaging its clapboards. A $1 million Rescue, Restore and Renovate capital campaign by the historical society will pay for the building to be moved away from both threats.
The work will make “this treasured community asset the pride of Jackson’s village center,” said Leslie Schomaker, president and treasurer of the Jackson Historical Society.
$7,500, Dana Meeting House Association, Dana Meeting House, New Hampton, 1801. The grant will pay for exterior painting repair and repairing failing clapboards, the first phase of a planned three-year exterior restoration that will include trim and window restoration and restoration of the outhouse.
The community gathering place and historical landmark, complete with unique box pews, is undergoing a restoration by the Dana Meeting House Association, which was formed in 2019. The first project was to raise money to repair the original plaster ceiling in 2023.
“Since then, the all-volunteer nonprofit has effectively engaged the community’s interest through their non-denominational services, programs, newsletters, and determined fundraising efforts,” the release said.
“Our historic building has been a beacon in the community since it was built in 1800,” said Blair Folts, secretary, Board of Directors, Dana Meeting House Association “With this grant and the ongoing support of our community, the Dana Meeting House Association will continue to preserve and promote our historic past for future generations.”
$5,000, Woman’s Club of Concord, Chamberlin House Garage, Concord, ca. 1906. The grant will support roof and trim repairs following a multi-year project that focused on exterior repairs to the National Register-listed 1886 Chamberlain House.
The garage is one the earliest purpose-built auto garages in Concord and its rental space provides revenue for the operating budget of the property. The building retains most of its character-defining features, including the original doors of the three garage bays and the slate roof.
“Rehabilitating the historic garage at the Woman’s Club of Concord helps our organization meet our mission,” said Nadine Miller, Chamberlin House Committee. “The garage provides passive income that supports our operating costs and helps us focus on maintaining Chamberlin House for the three residents who live there, our membership, and the public to enjoy.”
$5,000, New Hampshire Historical Society, NH Historical Society Headquarters, Concord, 1911. The grant will support masonry repointing of the granite parapet to arrest water infiltration.
The nationally significant Beaux-Arts building was designed by architect Guy Lowell. It houses the society’s exhibits and research library, offices, and meeting space. It is a contributing structure in the Concord Civic District, a National Register District.
James Garvin, retired state architectural historian, described it as “one of the best small-scale examples of classical design and granite construction in the United States.”
“The New Hampshire Historical Society’s iconic Guy Lowell-designed building is a treasure,” said Bill Dunlap, president, New Hampshire Historical Society. “This grant will help us continue to appropriately take care of it, ensuring it will stay in top condition for generations to come.”
$5,000, Cohos Historical Society, Marion Blodgett Museum, Stratford, 1854. The grant will support restoration of a stained glass window that was damaged by a 1922 fire in a neighboring building that melted the lead cames and compromised the structural integrity of the building.
The building started out as the Starford Hollow United Methodist Church, and was extensively renovated in 1896, when stained glass windows were added. Another was added in 1909. After it was listed as a 2019 Seven to Save property, “a small but dedicated group has been slowly but steadily improving” the building’s condition.
“The Cohos Historical Society feels that our stained-glass restoration project is important to our community because we are restoring a piece of history in our town that preserves an important relic,” said Jamie Davis, president, Cohos Historical Society.
$5,000, Wakefield Library Association, Wakefield Library, Wakefield, 1903. Exterior trim repairs, including the pilaster, sills, and a windowsill replacement, listed as top priorities in the library’s 2024 building assessment report.
The library, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was a gift from Seth Low, a president of Columbia University who had family ties to Wakefield. It’s in the Wakefield Historic District and is owned and operated by the Wakefield Library Association. It has been a “cherished community asset since its dedication in 1903,” the release said.
“This unique building is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a focal point in our local Historic District,” said Pam Wiggin, trustee president, Wakefield Library Association.
$5,000, Wolfeboro Center Community Church, Wolfeboro, 1841. Roof replacement and exterior painting as part of revive and reuse effort.
Listed to the National Register, the building has never had electricity or plumbing, and its interior is largely intact.
“When the center of town shifted to another area, this church found new congregants thanks to the 1872 arrival of the railroad and subsequent development of seasonal lakeside cottages nearby,” the release said. Attendance declined over the past seven decades, and the COVID pandemic “dealt the final death blow.”
The local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution have formed a nonprofit supporting the building’s preservation and reuse possibilities.
The grant “will be a critical piece of the funding for our much-needed roof project and help us to continue to preserve the church as a meeting house for the entire community,” said Nancy Mershon Black, president, Wolfeboro Community Church.
$2,500, Lancaster Historical Society, Wilder-Holton House, Lancaster, 1780. The grant will support security and fire alarm system upgrades to a 30-year-old analog system, installing a modern digital system that includes entry alarms, smoke/CO detectors, and perimeter cameras. The property was listed as a Seven to Save in 2021.
The Wilder-Holton House was the first two-story house built in Coos County, according to the release. Besides being a residence, it was used for early town meetings and church services. It is listed to the National Register and “is an excellent example of a timber-framed northern New England 18th c. house.”
The historical society acquired the property in 1964 and since has invested significantly in maintaining the building. Recently this included replacing decaying sills, and in 2023-24, the siding, adding insulation, reglazed all 29 original windows and fitting them with storm windows.
“The mission statement of the Lancaster Historical Society includes the goal of preserving and protecting Lancaster’s history,” said Sharon Chamberlain, the society’s secretary. She said the grant will help continue that mission.