Strawbery Banke Receives Grant to Restore Historic House
Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth has received a $125,000 grant to restore one of its historic houses, the museum announced Friday.
The grant comes from the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP), which is awarding $4.1 million in matching grants to 32 different projects across the state.
The money from the grant will go toward the restoration of the museum's Penhallow House, which was built around 1750, the museum said. The plan is to fully restore the house as part of Strawbery Banke’s Heritage House Program, eventually becoming a first-of-its-kind exhibit featuring 20th-century African American history.
"Kenneth Richardson was an active member of Portsmouth’s black community during the 1950s," the museum's announcement read. "His story will enable the museum to interpret American history in a more inclusive, accurate way."
“The work of the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program is critical to preserving and understanding the history of the state,” Strawbery Banke CEO Lawrence J. Yerdon said. “Strawbery Banke Museum has benefitted enormously over the years from the LCHIP program both from the practical standpoint of funding for projects that ensure the future of the historic buildings but also as inspiration and validation to other donors who are considering project support. We thank LCHIP again for the invaluable role they play to the museum, to Portsmouth, and across New Hampshire.”
LCHIP funds support projects in nine of the state’s ten counties, the release said, adding that grant recipients are required to raise a minimum of one dollar for each dollar provided by LCHIP. This year’s awards of $4.1 million will be matched by nearly $18 million that the project proponents will raise from other public and private sources, infusing a total of over $22 million into the state’s economy in direct project activity, according to the announcement.
Penhallow House is a stop on the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail.