Latest news with #PlacesinPeril
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Georgia preservation society says federal cuts hurt efforts to preserve historic sites
The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation has worked to keep the state's historic structures in good shape and protected from the damages of time since 1973. However, the organization said Thursday that federal funding cuts, including funds allocated to them that are being withheld due to changes in Washington, are putting their mission at risk. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] 'Recent developments at the federal level of government present a direct threat to historic preservation and require us all, as advocates for historic places, to speak up,' the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation said in a statement. The organization said the 'critical federal funding' that keeps their historic preservation efforts going in Georgia has not yet been distributed for the 2025 fiscal year. TRENDING STORIES: Historic railway museum in Duluth named to Places in Peril list Historic Georgia sites named to 2025 'Places in Peril' list Historic McAfee House sold in Cobb County for $1, plans to move home for preservation proceed Groups tour historic theatres across north Georgia Georgia Trust sells 103-year-old Gwinnett Co. library to City of Norcross for preservation Additionally, and in their words 'even more troubling,' was that the funding is almost 'completely eliminated' in the 2026 fiscal budget in Washington. That's because the latest federal budget would almost completely remove the Historic Preservation Fund, a federal program that assists state-level and local preservation work. The organization said it puts Georgia's historic sites in jeopardy. 'The administration's failure to release the 2025 Historic Preservation Fund and its proposal to nearly eliminate this critical funding in 2026 will have catastrophic consequences for historic preservation efforts nationwide,' W. Wright Mitchell, president of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, said. Mitchell said the funds being withheld also meant that state historic preservation offices could end up closing down, adding that 'the damage from these actions could take decades to repair.' The Historic Preservation Fund was first created in 1966 through the National Historic Preservation Act. The legislation was signed into law by former President Lyndon B. Johnson. The fund is what is used to administer the National Register of Historic Places, issue Historic Tax Credits for reinvestment and, among other functions, provide technical assistance, reviews and approval of federal tax credit projects. The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation said this type of funding helps to incentivize private investment in historic communities across the state, as well as lead to investments that create jobs, both directly and indirectly. 'The continued withholding of appropriated funds and the proposed elimination of future funding will be detrimental to all historic preservation efforts in the state,' the organization said. Channel 2 Action News has reached out to the White House for comment and are waiting for their response. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The Rock House in Thomson: A Place in Peril
THOMSON, Ga (WJBF)- An iconic old home in McDuffie County needs a little TLC. It's been placed on the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation's 20th annual Places in Peril list. The Rock House in Thomson is a significant piece of history in Georgia. Over the centuries it has fallen into disrepair thanks to neglect and vandalism. Now it needs your help. 'So basically it was built in the late 1700s, just a few years after the Declaration of Independence,' said Windsor Smith, an Ansley descendant. The Rock House was built by Thomas Ansley after he got a large land grant for his war efforts during the American Revolution. It's one of the oldest houses still standing in Georgia. 'The Quakers who settled in Wrightsboro and Thomas Ansley were the first people, first white settlers, in that part of Georgia ever,' explained Wright Mitchell, President and CEO of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. It's the only stone house left in the state with its original floor plan in tact, making it historically significant. The house was used as a home until the 1950's. Over time it began to fall apart and vandals destroyed parts of the home. The goal of the Georgia Trust's Places in Peril program is to raise awareness about Georgia's significant historic, archaeological and cultural resources. The Places in Peril program offers a path to restore the Rock House. 'The primary goal of the Places in Peril program is to draw awareness to the nature, to the threatened nature of the site in the hopes that public support will galvanize possibly, you know, in the case of the Rock House- a fringe group would be established that could form under 501-C3 and raise funds,' Mitchell said. It's the ancestral home of the late President Jimmy Carter, a descendant of Thomas's son, Abel. 13-year-old Windsor Smith is descended from Thomas's son, Joseph. She has always loved the Rock House and spent years studying its history, even winning an essay contest that led to her family meeting President Carter. 'It's just amazing, to be honest, because I feel like, for me it's not just, 'Oh, that's an old building with a whole bunch of historic context.' That's my home. That's my family that I came from.' Windsor's passion for the Rock House has her dreaming big for its future. 'I would like maybe some tour guides there, maybe– because I'm a Junior Ranger at a whole bunch of parks. And we have a whole lot of kids in Thompson who would be ecstatic to do something like this. So, I think that we can maybe have a Junior Ranger certification program,' said Windsor. Windsor's father Jason Smith works for the city as the Community Development Director. He hopes the Rock House's addition to this list helps his family's vision of turning it into a center for historic learning. 'We're hoping that just that word of mouth, that higher elevated level of interest will open up some opportunities that maybe we haven't seen or opened up some opportunities that were maybe closed in the past,' he said. He added that being on the Places in Peril list is both a good thing and a bad thing. 'People hear that 'places in peril' and they understand what it means and the name resonates with people. So, I'm hoping that that even though it's not a you know, it's a recognition of something that has potentially fallen into the dangers of hands of vandals and, you know, destruction and that sort of thing. But it's a good thing to raise awareness,' Jason said. Right now the city only has about a quarter of a million dollars set aside for work on the Rock House. They don't know yet how much it will cost to renovate, but it's safe to say it will be expensive to bring this historic home back to life. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
