PORT TOWNSEND — Four Jefferson County projects have been awarded Heritage Capital Projects funds totaling more than $1.9 million.
Heritage Capital Projects (HCP) is a state grant program focused on funding projects of historical significance.
The Port of Port Townsend will receive $1 million, according to an HCP press release. The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding (NWSWB) will receive $498,000. Jefferson County Historical Society will receive $269,000. The Schooner Martha will receive $142,000.
“In many ways, Schooner Martha is in better shape today than she was in 1907 when she launched,” the release said.
The Schooner Martha Foundation will rebuild the schooner’s cabin and complete above waterline restorations with its funds.
“While the Schooner Martha Foundation has accomplished maintenance projects, and remedial work in this area, the house remains original to the 1907 construction and is in need of reconstruction and restoration,” the release said.
Schooner Martha is currently docked inside Point Hudson Marina.
“The boat will continue being used for youth maritime education and sail training around the Salish Sea,” wrote Sonia Frojen, a member of the foundation’s board.
Frojen said the foundation plans to raise $150,000 to match the HCP funds.
To learn more about the boat, visit www.schoonermartha.org.
The Port of Port Townsend’s funding will go toward a comprehensive re-roofing project.
“Point Hudson building roofs are original from their construction in 1935,” Dave Nakagawara, the port’s manager of capital projects, wrote in an email. “(They) need to be replaced in order to preserve the buildings and their myriad uses for the future. The project includes the abatement of asbestos; the roof tiles are made of asbestos cement material.”
To learn more about the port, visit https://portofpt.com.
The project is scheduled for 2025-2026 and will be phased to minimize impacts upon Point Hudson businesses, offices, RV Park and marina and visitors, Nakagawara wrote.
“The (NWSWB) project focuses on the rehabilitation of seven recently acquired historic cottages now used for student housing, and it builds connections between the cottages and the rest of the campus through signage, paths and lighting,” Executive Director Betsy Davis wrote.
The school offers a pathway to living-wage employment, Davis said. Finding housing can present a barrier for 50 to 60 full-time students who enroll in the program each year, she added.
“The cottages add to the historic character of the working waterfront in Lower Hadlock,” Davis wrote.
The cottages combine with the school’s two historic waterfront buildings and the Galster House, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Davis wrote.
To learn more about NWSWB, visit https://nwswb.edu.
The Jefferson Historical Society will put its funding toward work being done at the Museum of Art + History in Port Townsend’s historic 1892 City Hall building.
“The project has two key components,” the press release said. “Modifications to our historic building to ensure all spaces are accessible for all visitors, and the fabrication and installation of permanent exhibition infrastructure to serve as the ongoing foundation for dynamic, community-based exhibits.”
The sizable project will be done in a strategic effort to fulfill the long-term goal of revitalizing and sustaining interest in and engagement in the diverse art and history of this region, the release said.
To learn more about the historical society, visit https://www.jchsmuseum.org.
The Heritage Capital Projects Funds have been administered by the Washington State Historical Society for the last 30 years, according to the release.
In those 30 years, the state agency has funded $106 million for 421 projects, which have seen $212 million in local and private investment, the release said.
“Projects are selected after rigorous review and vetted by a panel of experts from multiple disciplines, including economic and community development, heritage and historic preservation, and architecture,” the release said.
To learn more about Heritage Capital Projects, visit https://www.washingtonhistory.org/across-washington/grants/heritage-capital-projects.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.
