The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The Howe House in Colonial Park is one of four historic sites receiving nearly $1 million through Somerset County’s Historic Preservation Grant Program.
Organizations received grant money for the stabilization, rehabilitation, restoration, and/or preservation of historic sites. The funds were made possible by the Somerset County Board of County Commissioners through the Somerset County Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund.
The Howe House, which is “historically significant for its association with the early Dutch settlement of Somerset County,” is receiving $242,100, according to a press release about the awards.
The money will be used by the Somerset County Historical Society, which is restoring the property, according to the press release.
The next phase of restoration will focus on restoration and archeology of the main house, according to the release.
“Somerset County has a rich history, having played key roles in the Revolutionary War, the Industrial Revolution, and during many other turning points in US history,” Somerset County Commissioner Melonie Marano, liaison to the Cultural and Heritage Commission, said in the release. “Investing in the preservation of historic buildings and infrastructure is very important both for educating future generations and attracting heritage tourism.”
Also receiving grants are the Abraham Staats House in South Bound Brook, which received $66,460; the Kennedy-Martin-Stelle Farmstead in Bernards, which received $549,261, and the Reasoner-True Farmstead in Montgomery, which received $74,000.
