Preserving the Past: Speaker outlines grants available to protect Kansas history
Kansas Historical Society official says more than 1,600 resources dot the state
At a glance: Bethany Falvey, an architectural historian with the Kansas Historical Society, was the featured speaker during the May 3 First Friday e-Call, a monthly online series hosted by K-State Research and Extension that helps to nurture small businesses and inspire entrepreneurship in Kansas.
Related: First Friday e-call (archive) | National Register of Historic Places (Kansas, searchable database)
May 9, 2024
By Pat Melgares, K-State Research and Extension news service
MANHATTAN, Kan. – All across Kansas, historical buildings dot the state’s communities, representing an ever-present reminder of a glorious past.
That past, however, can also be part of a community’s bright future, says an official with the Kansas Historical Society.
Bethany Falvey was the featured speaker during the May 3 First Friday e-Call, a monthly online series hosted by K-State Research and Extension that helps to nurture small businesses and inspire entrepreneurship in Kansas. The online discussions, which routinely host dozens of Kansas citizens from the public and private sectors, are available free each month.
According to Falvey, an architectural historian and sub-grants manager with the Kansas Historical Society, there are more than 1,600 buildings, sites, districts and objects in Kansas listed on the National Register of Historic Places, touching 101 of the state’s 105 counties. A searchable database of those properties is available online at khri.kansasgis.org.
The Kansas Historical Society, she notes, offers four grant programs to help rural and urban communities preserve or restore historic properties:
- Heritage Trust Fund – Established in 1990, this fund has awarded more than $29 million as of 2024. Awards typically range from $5,000 to $100,000 for any eligible historic listing – not just buildings. More information is available at kshs.org/14617.
- Historic Preservation Fund – This program is for preservation-related activities, such as surveys, National Register nominations, design guidelines, educational programs, conferences and more. Learn more at kshs.org/14615.
- Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit – This program provides a financial incentive for owners to rehabilitate a historic building based on the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Federal and state tax credits are given, based on meeting certain guidelines. Learn more at kshs.org/14673.
- Kansas Rural Preservation – This program was established in August, 2023 to target properties in rural downtown commercial cores. Priority is given to Kansas Main Street communities. More information is available at kshs.org/20430.
In most every case, only the property owner may apply for funding through the Kansas Historical Society’s grant programs, Falvey said.
“In Kansas,” she says, “we have various historical resources….things like large machines; locomotives; public utilities like water towers; landscapes; parks; cemeteries; sculptures; and, of course buildings like houses, courthouses, schools, hospitals, theatres and opera houses.”
The online, searchable database of Kansas historical resources is available to anyone interested in learning more about what is listed in the National Register in their community or region.
Interested persons can also attend an annual conference hosted by the Kansas Historical Society. This year’s event takes place May 15-17 in Newton.
Falvey’s full talk and other First Friday presentations are available online from K-State Research and Extension.
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K‑State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well‑being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county extension offices, experiment fields, area extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K‑State campus in Manhattan. For more information, visit www.ksre.ksu.edu. K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.