For Immediate Release:	September 30, 2002
Contact(s):	Diane Miller, (402) 221-3749

National Park Service Announces Network To Freedom Grant Awards For $250,000 (Omaha, NE) - The National Park Service (NPS) National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program recently announced $250,000 grants to 14 projects - seven sites, five programs, and two facilities - in 11 states. The variety of projects and partnerships described in the proposals indicate an impressive level of activity and creativity in preserving and telling the story of the Underground Railroad. Proposals were submitted for nineteen projects totaling over $340,000. The proposals represented ten sites, six programs, and three facilities that are listed in the Network to Freedom. The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act was amended in October 2000, by P.L. 106-291, Title I, Section 150, to give the Secretary of the Interior authority to make grants for the preservation and restoration of buildings and structures associated with the Underground Railroad, and for related research. These grants require a one to one match. Funding was appropriated for the Network to Freedom Grants for the first time in fiscal year 2002. Sites, facilities, or programs listed in the Network to Freedom were eligible to compete for $250,000. The range of projects is reflected in the following examples. Restoration projects include the interior of the John P. Parker House (Ohio) and a wall and foundation of the Milton House (WI), both National Historic Landmarks. The Maryland State Archives is teaming with the Commission to Coordinate the Study, Commemoration, and Impact of Slavery’s History and Legacy in Maryland, Morgan State University, Goucher College, and Maryland Public Television to sponsor an internship program. Interns will extract Underground Railroad related data from a variety of public and governmental records held at the archives; digital imaging of the documents will allow internet based access for the public. In Kansas, the Watkins Community Museum is expanding their research on the Underground Railroad in the Lawrence area, developing a new permanent exhibit, and collaborating with Native American artist Wayne Wildcat on a mural sized painting that will illustrate and honor local Underground Railroad participants. The Indiana Freedom Trails Educational and Research Program is addressing fragmentary information about routes through the State by focusing research on nine counties where little information is known. The project will begin to connect the journeys of freedom seekers as they moved through the state. A listing of the 2002 Network to Freedom grants appears below. Additional information on the Network to Freedom program can be found at the program’s website at http://www.cr.nps.gov/ugrr. For further information on Network to Freedom grants, contact Diane Miller, National Coordinator, Network to Freedom Program at 402-221-3749 or diane_miller@nps.gov (more) State Project Name/Network Listing Name Award Amount California Extending program impact through new research and media/Meet Mary Pleasant $25,000 California Research for development of UGRR study tour in California/Footsteps to Freedom Study Tour $23385 Indiana Research in Nine Indiana Counties on the UGRR/Indiana Freedom Trails $14,395 Kansas Historic Preservation Plan/Free State Capitol $7,500 Kansas “Quest for Freedom: The UGRR in Douglas County, Kansas”/Watkins Community Museum $20,470 Maryland Beneath the UGRR: Assisted Flight and the Conspiracy against Slavery in Maryland, 1830-1860/Maryland State Archives $25,000 Michigan Cass County Collaborative Free Soil Research Project/Free Soil Tours $10,151 Mississippi Escapes, Uprisings and Maroons Proving Mississippi River a Major UGRR Route/Forks of the Road Enslavement Market Terminus $7,500 Missouri Neighborhood Pride/Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing $24,955 New York Building a Niagara County UGRR Education Resources Center/Murphy Orchards $15,394 Ohio James & Sophia Clemens Farmstead Restoration Project/James & Sophia Clemens Farmstead $25,000 Ohio Parker House—Interior Restoration/John P. Parker House Historic Site $25,000 Tennessee Understanding the African American Experience at Forts Henry, Heiman & Donelson/Fort Donelson National Battlefield $1,250 Wisconsin Milton House Wall & Foundation Restoration Project/Milton House Museum $25,000 14 projects funded $250,000 EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA™ THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CARES FOR SPECIAL PLACES SAVED BY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SO THAT ALL MAY EXPERIENCE OUR HERITAGE. Listing of 2002 Network to Freedom Grants Back to Press Releases