The City of St. Louis will receive a federal grant for historic preservation project

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, SEPT. 27, 2010—The Missouri Department of Natural Resources announced today that the City of St. Louis, a Certified Local Government, will receive a $10,000 grant through the federal Historic Preservation Fund. The city will use the grant to develop a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for contributing resources associated with the history of the Ville, a historic African-American community in the City of St. Louis.

The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 authorizes a program of federal matching grants, known as the Historic Preservation Fund, to assist the various states in carrying out historic preservation activities. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, and in Missouri, is administered through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' State Historic Preservation Office.

Plan de la Ville de St. Louis des Illinois sur le Mississippi, avec les differente projects de la fortifies. Map by Goerge de Bois St. Lys, 1796. Courtesy Missouri Historical Society.

Under changes made to the act in 1980, each state is required to earmark a minimum of 10 percent of its Historic Preservation Fund monies for exclusive use by Certified Local Governments. CLGs are communities that have established, under their local government, a historic preservation program that meets certain standards set by the state and the NPS. Local governments that maintain CLG status are considered to be partners with the SHPO and the NPS in the nation’s historic preservation program. Missouri currently has 50 local governments that have attained CLG status.

The grants were awarded based on a competitive scoring process and the direct relation of the projects to the identification, evaluation, or protection of historical, architectural or archaeological resources. Grant-funded projects must pertain to the accomplishment of the State Historic Preservation Officer’s responsibilities as outlined in the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, must be carried out in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s “Standards for Archaeology and Historic Preservation” and must meet requirements of the National Register Programs Guideline (NPS-49).

For more information about the CLG program, visit the department's SHPO website at dnr.mo.gov/shop/certifie.htm or contact Jo Ann Radetic at 573-522-2473 or e-mail jo.ann.radetic@dnr.mo.gov. ###

Volume 38-567 (For Immediate Release) Contact: Sue Holst 573-751-6510 / After Hours: 573-340-9DNR (9367)

Department of Natural Resources P.O. Box 176 Jefferson City, MO 65102 800-361-4827 573-751-3443 E-mail: contact@dnr.mo.gov