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National Maritime Heritage Grant Recipients

 

In this current grant cycle, 34 grants in 14 states and 1 commonwealth, totaling $2,631,610, were awarded under the fourth round of the reestablished Maritime Heritage Grants Program. Successful applicants include state and tribal governments as well as private non-profit organizations. The projects funded include maritime education and information access projects; exhibit and heritage trail development; preservation of ships, lighthouses, and other maritime properties; and survey and conservation of underwater archeological resources. The projects that received funding are listed by state below.

The list of grant recipients from 1998 and grant recipients from 2014, 2015, and 2016 is also available.

 

Alaska | California | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | New York
Northern Mariana Islands | Pennsylvania | Virginia | Vermont | Washington | Wisconsin

 

Alaska

Applicant: Alaska Association for Historic Preservation
Project Title: The NN Cannery History Project
Project Location: Anchorage, AK
Amount Awarded: $49,993
Project Description: This project will collect, share, and preserve the stories of the cannery people—company personnel, local residents, Native organizations, commercial fishermen, and chiefly, the diverse cannery workers—whose activities are reflected by and embedded in the industrial landscape contained within the 127-year-old historic property at South Naknek, Alaska.

California

Applicant: Maritime Museum Association of San Diego
Project Title: A Preservation Project to Ensure the Long-term Integrity of the Sailing Ship Star of India
Project Location: San Diego, CA
Amount Awarded: $200,000
Project Description: The Maritime Museum of San Diego will undertake a critical preservation project for ongoing stewardship of the Museum's most valuable maritime object: the iron sailing ship Star of India, built in 1863.

Applicant: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Association
Project Title: USS Pampanito Preservation Project Phase II
Project Location: San Francisco, CA
Amount Awarded: $174,945
Project Description: This will be the second phase of this preservation project and includes steel repairs to the superstructure above the waterline and the steel structure supporting the visitor's walkway, replacement of the wood deck, relocating the gangway, and re-installing the 5-inch gun mount to its original 1945 location on the deck.

Applicant: Port of Los Angeles High School
Project Title: Career Technical Education Program: Boat Operations
Project Location: San Pedro, CA
Amount Awarded: $50,000
Project Description: Boat Operations students will graduate high school prepared to enter the maritime industry workforce, or pursue post-secondary education in a variety of maritime fields. Student employment in boatbuilding, sailing, and related maritime pathways will preserve traditional maritime skills, techniques, and methodologies passed down from generation to generation.

Applicant: Yurok Tribe
Project Title: Redwood Dugout Canoe Adventure Phase 1
Project Location: Kalmath, CA
Amount Awarded: $50,000
Project Description: The program concept is to have several Yurok redwood canoes constructed for use in the program, to develop a site where canoe craftsmanship is learned, and the creation of the Yurok canoe story and canoe protocol will be passed down from Yurok elders to the next generation. Apprenticeship will maintain cultural craftsmanship, Yurok Historical knowledge of ocean navigation and Yurok river language.

Applicant: National Steinbeck Center
Project Title: Restoration of the F/V Western Flyer
Project Location: Salinas, CA
Amount Awarded: $191,130
Project Description: The Western Flyer Foundation, in collaboration with the National Steinbeck Center, Salinas CA, is restoring this historic vessel to meet USCG safety standards while maintaining historic structural integrity in order to utilize the vessel as a platform for ocean education of students and teachers.

 

Connecticut

Applicant: Mystic Seaport Museum
Project Title: Fishing Schooner L.A. Dunton Documentation and Survey Project
Project Location: Mystic, CT
Amount Awarded: $103,703
Project Description: This grant will allow preparation for a major restoration of the 1921 National Historic Landmark fishing schooner L.A. Dunton, one of the last surviving examples of the most common fishing vessel sailing out of the principal New England fishing ports in the beginning of the twentieth century.

 

Delaware

Applicant: Kalmar Nyckel Foundation
Project Title: Tall Ship Time Machine Digital Media Project
Project Location: Wilmington, DE
Amount Awarded: $38,661
Project Description: The Kalmar Nyckel Foundation (KNF) will create a short animated video called "Tall Ship Time Machine," which will take audiences on a "fantastic voyage" that transforms the modern-day replica Kalmar Nyckel back to the condition and configuration of her original namesake colonial vessel.

 

Florida

Applicant: University of West Florida
Project Title: Gulf Coast Digital History Project
Project Location: Pensacola, FL
Amount Awarded: $34,708
Project Description: The Gulf Coast Digital History Project will create a free, open-access online clearinghouse of historic documents, materials, and resources connected to the maritime history and heritage of the northern Gulf of Mexico.

 

Maine

Applicant: Town of Swan's Island
Project Title: Burnt Coat Harbor Light Station Restoration
Project Location: Swan's Island, ME
Amount Awarded: $85,000
Project Description: This proposal includes restoration of exterior masonry, interior masonry immediately under the catwalk, and remediation of the catwalk underside. Masonry repairs will halt moisture incursion through the masonry walls.

Applicant: Greater Portland Landmarks Association
Project Title: Enhancing the Visitor Experience at the Portland Observatory
Project Location: Portland, ME
Amount Awarded: $40,000
Project Description: The Greater Portland Landmarks Association is planning a major project at the Portland Observatory for enhanced use of the multi-level, octagonal space to safely accommodate and engage a 40% increase in visitors, refresh exhibits, and incorporate new objects.

 

Maryland

Applicant: Annapolis Maritime Museum and Park
Project Title: A New Permanent Exhibit: "White Gold: The Lure and Legacy of the Maryland Oyster"
Project Location: Annapolis, MD
Amount Awarded: $37,000
Project Description: This new proposed permanent exhibit capitalizes on the museum's multi- disciplinary mission by uniting maritime heritage with science and technology to encourage an understanding of how cultural, environmental, ecological, and political histories are intimately interwoven in the unique maritime traditions of Annapolis.

Applicant: Project Liberty Ship
Project Title: Preservation of Hull and Underwater Portions of SS John W Brown
Project Location: Baltimore, MD
Amount Awarded: $200,000
Project Description: Dry dock access is required to allow work to take place on the outside of the hull as well as on interior spaces and equipment that are below the waterline. The preservation tasks planned for 2019 include rust removal and painting, replacement of anodes, preservation of the hull at the waterline, cleaning of underwater fittings and repair of corroded bulkheads that compromise watertight integrity.

Applicant: Baltimore Children's Museum
Project Title: The New Port of Baltimore Exhibit
Project Location: Baltimore, MD
Amount Awarded: $50,000
Project Description: This project completes the fabrication and installation of a Port-themed permanent, core exhibit at Port Discovery Children's Museum that highlights the history and national significance of Baltimore's ports and related maritime industries.

Applicant: Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
Project Title: Edna E. Lockwood Educational Tour of Chesapeake Bay
Project Location: St. Michaels, MD
Amount Awarded: $45,845
Project Description: The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) plans public outreach, education, and increased public access for the 1889 National Historic Landmark bugeye, Edna E. Lockwood, including a summer 2019 tour to ports in Maryland and Virginia waters of the Chesapeake Bay, with accompanying dockside exhibitions and programming.

 

Massachusetts

Applicant: USS Constitution Museum
Project Title: A Sailor's Life for Me: Optimizing online Resources for Mobile Responsiveness
Project Location: Boston, MA
Amount Awarded: $50,000
Project Description: The USS Constitution Museum seeks support from the National Maritime Heritage Grant program to extend and expand the impact of A Sailor's Life for Me! (asailorslifeforme.org), an award-winning game and educational resource that brings USS Constitution in the War of 1812 to life.

Applicant: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center
Project Title: The Fishing Industry: Then and Now
Project Location: New Bedford, MA
Amount Awarded: $18,535
Project Description: The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center proposes The Fishing Industry: Then and Now, digital and physical exhibits, curriculum materials, and a monthly program series exploring change over time in America's oldest occupation, the commercial fishing industry.

Applicant: Essex National Heritage Commission
Project Title: Bakers Island Light Station Maritime Field Education Program
Project Location: Salem, MA
Amount Awarded: $35,014
Project Description: This grant will be used to develop new hands-on learning experiences at Bakers Island Light Station with an emphasis on family and youth programs including English Language Learners.

Applicant: Lowell's Maritime Foundation (Lowell's Boat Shop)
Project Title: Lowell's Boat Shop Apprentice Program, Educational Outreach: Innovative Learning on the River
Project Location: Amesbury, MA
Amount Awarded: $50,000
Project Description: This series of programs connect a broad audience to significant US maritime history resources, experiences and skills. Each opportunity aims to preserve the uniquely American tradition of boat building at LBS, cultivating the next generation of US maritime history stewards.

Applicant: Old Dartmouth Historical Society (New Bedford Whaling Museum)
Project Title: A Spectacle in Motion: A Publication of the Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage Around the World
Project Location: New Bedford, MA
Amount Awarded: $29,190
Project Description: In 2018, the New Bedford Whaling Museum (NBWM) will publish a scholarly work to showcase the 1,275' Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage 'Round the World. A maritime artwork of national historical importance, the Panorama is a first-hand account of a whaling voyage originating from the port of New Bedford, MA in the mid-19th century. Titled A Spectacle in Motion, this publication will complement a major exhibition of the Panorama scheduled to launch next year. The project's objective is to provide a central resource for scholars and the public to learn about the history of the Panorama, its role in 19th century popular culture, the maritime content and themes embedded in the work itself, and the two-year conservation process that it recently underwent.

 

New York

Applicant: St. Lawrence Valley Educational Television Council
Project Title: New York's Seaway Lighthouses
Project Location: Watertown, NY
Amount Awarded: $35,000
Project Description: This project is a 90-minute television documentary and 20 short video clips for online social media use about the approximately 20 historic lighthouses that extend along four major waterways in upstate New York – Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River.

Applicant: Whaling Museum Society
Project Title: A Public Program Series in Maritime & Whaling Heritage
Project Location: Cold Spring Harbor, NY
Amount Awarded: $22,628
Project Description: The Museum proposes to host a revitalized community-centered educational event series for the public from Sept 2018-December 2019 which explores the whaling industry, its impact on our regional and cultural history, and its sustained implications on modern life, in conjunction with new exhibits at the Museum exploring whaling history which inspired the cultural foundation of our maritime heritage.

Applicant: Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
Project Title: Shipyard Repair of USS SLATER Mast and Hull
Project Location: Albany, NY
Amount Awarded: $200,000
Project Description: The objective of this project is to ensure the continued preservation of the National Historic Landmark USS SLATER by towing the ship to Caddell Drydock and Repair Company on Staten Island. Once there we will address preservation issues with the mast and hull that cannot be addressed in our present location in Albany.

Applicant: SS Columbia Project
Project Title: SS Columbia: Preservation and Stabilization
Project Location: New York, NY
Amount Awarded: $100,852
Project Description: The project goal is to preserve and stabilize the vessel while funding is secured to begin core restoration work aboard SS Columbia.

Applicant: Seaport Museum
Project Title: Wavertree Deckhouse and Aft Accommodations Preservation
Project Location: New York, NY
Amount Awarded: $66,047
Project Description: South Street Seaport Museum (SSSM) is working to complete the total restoration of the 1885 sailing vessel Wavertree. The ship recently underwent a $13 million 16-month city-funded restoration of her hull, decks, and a complete rebuild of her sailing rig, but much work remains to be done. In order for Wavertree to better fulfill its potential as an interpretive educational platform, restoration of the forecastle deckhouse and aft accommodations will need to take place.

Applicant: National Maritime Historical Society
Project Title: National Maritime Historical Society Maritime Library & Digital Collections
Project Location: Peekskill, NY
Amount Awarded: $50,000
Project Description: The Society is seeking a $50,000 matching grant to assess, catalog, digitize and preserve its 8,000 volume maritime library, making it accessible to the public both online and in its physical location. The project also includes assessing, cataloging, digitizing and preserving the Society's extensive archives collection, including over 3,000 photographs, maps, charts, vessel plans, pamphlets, newspaper articles, works of art, ship models and fragments of maritime structures and objects.

 

Northern Mariana Islands

Applicant: Task Force Dagger
Project Title: Explore, Map, and Research WWII Sites in the Western Pacific
Project Location: Offshore of Northern Mariana Islands
Amount Awarded: 49,540
Project Description: The program seeks to provide rehabilitation opportunities for non-professional advocate service members through the study of WWII underwater maritime heritage.

 

Pennsylvania

Applicant: Carnegie Institute
Project Title: The Requin Gateway Project
Project Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Amount Awarded: $49,771
Project Description: The Requin Gateway Project will offer the more than 500,000 annual visitors to Carnegie Science Center an educational, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the history and culture of USS Requin, a Tench-class submarine with a unique military and civilian history. This maritime heritage education project will convert space within CSC (located in Pittsburgh, PA) to serve as an informative introduction to Requin. Through the project, CSC will exhibit authentic artifacts, including a dive suit and a torpedo; design and install hands-on exhibits; and create an interactive tour of Requin.

 

Virginia

Applicant: Virginia Department of Historic Resources
Project Title: Retreatement of Excavated Betsy
Project Location: Richmond, VA
Amount Awarded: $81,168
Project Description: This project will allow the applicant to hire a conservator to focus on the re- treatment of the organic artifacts from the ship Betsy with the goal being to stabilize these objects and make them available for exhibition and research.

Applicant: City of Alexandria
Project Title: Conservation of Alexandria's 18th-century Wooden Ship
Project Location: Alexandria, VA
Amount Awarded: $97,117
Project Description: This grant will fund portions of the conservation of the 18th-century wooden ship's hull discovered at 220 South Union Street in Alexandria, Virginia in November 2015.

 

Vermont

Applicant: Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
Project Title: Submerged Cultural Resources Management Program
Project Location: Vergennes, VT
Amount Awarded: $42,918
Project Description: This important program trains recreational SCUBA divers to become maritime archaeology advocates, teaches the basics of maritime archaeology techniques, and inspires stewardship of Lake Champlain's underwater cultural resources. Field programs are conducted in cooperation with the Vermont SHPO and Waterfront Diving Center.

 

Washington

Applicant: Virginia V Foundation
Project Title: Reframe the Stern of SS Virginia V
Project Location: Seattle, WA
Amount Awarded: $200,000
Project Description: The applicant will completely reframe the stern of the SS VIRGINIA V. The scope of the project will extend forward approximately 25' to the forward edge of the water tanks, and upward to just past the turn of the bilge. This will remove the last of the original frames on the vessel which are significantly degraded.

Applicant: US Lighthouse Society
Project Title: U.S. Lighthouse Society Archives Catalog Project
Project Location: Hansville, WA
Amount Awarded: $48,600
Project Description: The United States Lighthouse Society has created a major digital archive of photos, plans, publications, and other textual records relating to light stations, minor aids to navigation, lighthouse keepers and other personnel, lightships, lighthouse tenders, lighthouse depots, and lighthouse technology such as lens, lamps, and fog signals. The Society's goal is to make this material publicly accessible through an online catalog.

 

Wisconsin

Applicant: Wisconsin Historical Society
Project Title: Unloading History: Self-Unloaders and the Development of the Maritime Industrial Landscape
Project Location: Madison, WI
Amount Awarded: $54,245
Project Description: Maritime archaeologists from the Wisconsin Historical Society will: 1) complete the archaeological documentation of the last undocumented self-unloading schooner-barge in Wisconsin waters, Transfer (1872-1923), Milwaukee County; 2) complete a technical report on the site's investigation; 3) evaluate Transfer for listing on the National Register of Historic Places; 4) develop a regional context for the development and use of converted self-unloaders, and maritime technological and industrial innovation; 5) update Wisconsin's Multiple Property Documentation Form for self-unloading schooner-barges; 6) expand the Society's state-wide education and public outreach activities, fostering preservation of maritime heritage resources and conservation of the Great Lakes.