Latest news with #PreservationAllianceofWestVirginia
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Former teacher hopes Mannington Middle School benefits from endangered property status
FAIRMONT — After facing the possibility the school would be closed and the students merged with Blackshere Elementary, former technology teacher Rusty Elliott is now glad that Marion County Schools is taking steps to preserve the historic building that houses Mannington Middle School. 'It's one of those schools that was built in 1902,' Elliott said. 'And it's as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar.' In March, the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia announced Mannington Middle School had been added to the state's Endangered Properties List. School Superintendent Donna Heston told WAJR's Talk of the Town in March she hoped the designation opened up opportunities for the school similar to what Alderson Elementary School in Greenbrier County received. According to an article from November 2024, the former Alderson High School was renovated into an elementary school after the school district worked with the West Virginia School Building Association, DC Shires and The Thrasher Group's engineering division to refurbish the school. 'Structurally it is sound, we've had engineers come in and look at it,' Heston said about Mannington Middle on WAJR. 'Beautiful wood floors, it has a very historically rich structure as well as a historically rich library.' Heston said Mannington Middle Principal Jane DeVaul, a group of parents and the Preservation Alliance did the work to move the school onto the endangered properties list. The school faced closure as the county school system worked to put together a bond proposal for the 2024 election. However, the proposal was removed from the final bond before it was presented to voters. Elliott said while the building is structurally sound, the roof could use replacing. In 2023, Marion County Schools had the Thrasher Group check the tower area of the school. The Board of Education instituted safety precautions around the tower in 2022. The inspection led the Board of Education to believe there were no significant structural issues with the school. On its website, the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia wrote that the building was built in the Victorian Romanesque architectural style, and is a significant part of Mannington and the state's history. It's one of the oldest functional public schools in the state. The school was designed by an architectural firm out of Wheeling, and construction finished on the school in 1925. 'While still functional, the BOE, stretched thin, hopes its inclusion on this list will help with the preservation efforts for this outstanding building,' the alliance wrote on its website. It added the Endangered Properties List is a powerful tool used by the alliance to raise awareness about threatened historic sites across the state. Earning a place on the list increases visibility, advocacy and access to preservation resources for historic places. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, is also working on a Rural Historic Tax Credit which could potentially support preservation projects like the one in Mannington. The Rural Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act would reduce financial barriers to historic preservation in rural areas, alleviate burdens for small developers by boosting net proceeds and lowering compliance costs, as well as increasing access to capital to small towns who suffer from high construction costs but lower lease rates, which discourages developers. Elliott said the building should be fixed up, and doesn't require a lot of work to keep up. He supports the school now being on the Endangered Properties List. 'Let's fix it up,' he said. 'It is a treasure in the state of West Virginia. Too many times we tear down our treasures and don't keep them going.'
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Mannington Middle School added to Endangered Properties list
MANNINGTON, (WBOY) — The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia has added Mannington Middle School in Marion County to its 2025 Endangered Properties List. The school is one of the state's oldest functional public schools. Built in 1925, the building features Victorian Romanesque architecture and was designed by the local firm Franzheim, Giesey and Faris. Mannington Middle School is still owned and operated by the Marion County Board of Education, but the building faces preservation challenges. The Alliance's goal is to raise awareness and gather support for efforts to preserve the historic site. Senator Capito visits WVU School of Dentistry amid renovations 'We hope that addition to the list gives them additional support in the preservation of the space. As many BOEs are stretched quite thin right now, we're hoping that this will help them find support outside the BOE,' Preservation Manager Jamie Billman said. The school's inclusion on the list is part of a broader effort to protect important West Virginia landmarks. The Preservation Alliance hopes that by highlighting the school's significance, more attention will be given to saving it for future generations. For more information on Mannington Middle School and other endangered properties, visit the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia's website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
New Salem Baptist Church restoration gets big boost
On a snowy early March day in the old coal camp community of Tams, three friends lifted their voices in song while discussing a historic Black Raleigh County church and community presence. Sherrie Hunter, Queenie Schoolfield and Minister Lynn Halstead sang a portion of 'Jesus Built This Church On Love' as they celebrated another milestone in a church restoration project that has been ongoing since 2011. Last fall, the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV) wrote and submitted a grant to Preserving Black Churches, a project of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP). Local officials were recently notified that the New Salem Baptist Church, built in 1921 for the Black community of Tams, emerged as one of the awardees in a 'very competitive' program and will receive $200,000 for church repairs. 'We found out close to Queenie's 88th birthday (Feb. 27) that, out of 622 applicants, there were only 30 (awardees) nationwide, and New Salem will receive $200,000,' Hunter said. Among the other capital projects on the 2025 African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund list are St. Mark's Presbyterian Church of Cleveland and the Dickerson Chapel AME Church of Hillsborough, N.C. The funds will be utilized locally for water infiltration, repairs to the bell tower, exterior work and efforts to secure the building envelope, Hunter said. Hunter discussed the funding allocation and the ongoing renovations of New Salem Baptist Church at the Feb. 25 regular meeting of the Beckley Common Council, which she serves as a councilwoman-at-large. 'Thank you, City of Beckley; thank you, everybody,' she said. • • • 'The community of Tams, no longer exists,' said Halstead, who has delivered messages and participated in services at New Salem and other historic churches in Raleigh County over the years. 'This is the last building standing in the community. And, I feel it's important to the building, to the community at-large, especially to the people that were raised in Tams and moved away, that this place would be preserved because it's part of their history. 'And, if we let our history die, we forget where we came from.' According to Halstead, the church was established on Sept. 25, 1921. 'The original pastor was Mr. (Burton Linwood) Ziegler. The services ran from that time up until the time that the pastor, Donald Cook, passed away (2022). The funds to build the church were provided by 'Major' Tams, the coal operator here. The community paid every dime of it back to him, so now they have a church here. 'Queen Schoolfield is the oldest surviving member. She will tell you that Major Tams made no difference between the white people and the Black people. What he provided for the white people, he provided for the Black people. 'He built or had built four churches — the church here at Tams, the church at Stotesbury (a white church), and down at Wyco, there was a Black church and a white church built, because this was the time of segregation. All of them are historical parts of the community.' 'It's a joy to be involved in this,' he continued. 'The restoration has been a community effort, it's been an effort by many parties. The main reason we're here today is because of Sister Queen Schoolfield (keeping a promise to her mother to keep the doors of the church open).' She has sold hot dogs at various locations in Beckley over the years 'just to pay the utilities of this place, to keep this place open,' Halstead said. At a time when 'there was no road to Beckley (and) the only way in here was to come through Mullens,' he said, the coal operator 'had to provide everything for the community' and 'He was faithful to provide this church, this church right here that we stand in today.' • • • 'We started the restoration in 2011,' Hunter said. 'I worked with Donald Cook, the pastor here, at the recycling center, and an unknown man was on the Burning Rock Trail and saw the church. So he saw that Donald Cook was the preacher, and he said 'I need to reach out.'' The man gave Cook $500 to have the church painted, Hunter recalled. Fred Lovell, the plant supervisor at the recycling center and a fellow work colleague of Hunter's and Cook's at the Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority, pointed out to Hunter that the church — in addition to a new paint job — was in need of a new roof. Back then, Hunter enlisted the aid of Dawn Dayton and The Register-Herald newspaper to publicize the fundraising needs, and Hunter wrote a grant to Beckley Area Foundation in which the foundation agreed to match $2,500 if the community raised a similar amount. 'Well, we raised $11,000,' Hunter said. 'In 2013, we finally got the roof on the church. Susan Landis (of the BAF), she lived to see that we got a new roof.' Another $6,000 to $7,000 was raised to provide for the soffit. In addition to grant funding and grassroots aid from other outside agencies and businesses and the community in general, one of the past contributions, according to Hunter, came from 'a Black gentleman in a nursing home who sent in $2 in an envelope to help buy a shingle.' The funding assistance and the community interest has been 'transformative,' said Hunter. She acknowledged the inspiration of individuals such as Cook, Halstead, Schoolfield, Pastor Paul Chapman and Gary Hosey, the latter of Beckley Praise Church, over the years. 'And it all started with Donald Cook and Fred Lovell and the Beckley Area Foundation, The Register-Herald for doing that unbelievable story (by Andrea Lannon in April 2011 entitled 'New Salem Restoration Project'...' 'And Sherrie Hunter is where it started,' chimed in the voice of a woman seated to Hunter's right on the front church pew on Thursday, March 6, the unwavering voice of Queenie Schoolfield. 'She always leaves herself out, babydoll,' she said of Hunter. 'If it wasn't for her, this wouldn't be going on now. And I thank God for her every day and every night before I go to bed. She's the one that has kept things going.' Hunter said her father, Quinn Barbera, was 'the milkman (Blossom Milk) for Tams, WV' in the 1950s. 'That means all the world to me; praise God from whom all blessings flow,' Schoolfield said of the ongoing preservation efforts. 'I appreciate this lady (Hunter), and I appreciate all these people.' • • • As the years progressed, those involved in the restoration work also knew the church should be recognized for its historical significance. 'We knew we had to get it on the (National Park Services' National Register of Historic Places),' said Hunter. With assistance from the PAWV, that process was initiated. 'David Taylor, an architectural specialist, came down and met with Queenie and David Sibray, of the Preservation Alliance, and he (Taylor) submitted an unbelievable comprehensive plan to the Department of the Interior and to the National Park Service.' Hunter, her husband, David Hunter, Sibray and Taylor found out in April 2023 in Charleston that the church was to be entered into the National Register. 'I was emotional,' she said. Hunter said Taylor then wrote a grant to the William C. Pomeroy Foundation for a historical marker on the grounds, which was unveiled in 2024. After that, the PAWV's Danielle Parker contacted Hunter to launch the process that resulted in the newest grant funding outlay. New Salem Baptist was also included in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of the 11 most endangered historic places in the nation for 2024, an annual program that raises awareness of the threats facing 'some of the nation's greatest treasures,' according to the PAWV website. Hunter detailed other agencies or individuals who have provided funding or assistance over the years, including the Coal Heritage Authority and Christy Bailey for providing a $5,000 matching grant, and the Raleigh County Commission for supplying $5,000 for that match. Those funds paid for major exterior work and landscaping for the church grounds. 'Also, we have had wonderful help from Dyane Corcoran and Beaver Coal.' Blair Frier, of ZMM Architects and Engineers, helped assess the church free of charge, Hunter said. Recently, the local Daughters of the American Revolution chapter donated $600 to the effort, she added. 'It's been a collaboration,' Hunter said. 'It's everybody working together to preserve this wonderful church.' • • • According to an entry in e-WV, an online encyclopedia of the West Virginia Humanities Council, 'Major' William Purviance Tams Jr. (May 19, 1883 to August 3, 1977) 'was recognized in southern West Virginia as the last of the old-time coal barons. Tams was born in Staunton, Va., and studied engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg. He went to work for entrepreneur Samuel Dixon in the New River coalfield in 1904. With the support of Dixon and J. O. Watts of Lynchburg, Tams launched his own company, Gulf Smokeless Coal, in the new Winding Gulf coalfield in 1908. He established the company town of Tams, Raleigh County, as his headquarters, and later acquired Wyoming Coal Company in neighboring Wyoming County. He invested in other mines as well and was a leader in industry associations.' • • • Although the church doesn't currently host regular services, homecoming services have been conducted there each July since 2023. There have also been two candlelight services, and a service is planned for 2 p.m. on the Sunday before Easter, with Chapman and Halstead officiating, and homecoming will return on the first Sunday in July. And, Halstead and Chapman will stage occasional services as the restoration process continues. The public is invited to attend the services. For her part, Schoolfield, who lives in Beckley, definitely plans to be there to honor a critical part of her past and future. 'I haven't missed a Sunday,' she said. 'I never have joined another church.' She also attends other churches, obviously, and says she has likely been to more churches with Halstead than she has with anybody else. The larger church community has been her community, she said. 'I lost my first son, and he didn't have insurance. All these churches raised money for me to bury my son.' Going to church back in the day gave her a solid path for her life, she said. 'During those days, our parents brought us (family of seven) to church,' she said. 'We didn't come on our own then; we were so young. We had to be at church for the 11 o'clock service, had to be right here.' 'After Sunday school, our Dad used to always ask us what we learned,' Schoolfield added. 'We had to tell him that. Each one of us had to say something ... and had to repeat a Bible verse (always different from the others) before we ate.' She 'learned so much' from that raising, she said. And, she gained knowledge and wisdom from the church and the community. 'We learned so much from the community,' she said. 'We had to love everybody. We learned more about the Lord then. 'Yes, Jesus Loves Me' was our favorite song.' Good memories such as Sunday school downstairs with 'coal heat and a big pot-bellied stove,' prayer meeting on Wednesday and church on Sunday, and choir practice on Tuesday evenings are still with her. 'I just enjoyed every bit of it.' She also remembers having a favorite seat in the back of the church at one point. 'My aunt said, 'Listen, you don't sit in the back. When the Lord comes, He gonna be up front.' From then on, I sat up here in the front seat.' That has resulted in her having a front seat to viewing history unfold.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
New Salem Baptist Church restoration gets big boost
On a snowy early March day in the old coal camp community of Tams, three friends lifted their voices in song while discussing a historic Black Raleigh County church and community presence. Sherrie Hunter, Queenie Schoolfield and Minister Lynn Halstead sang a portion of 'Jesus Built This Church On Love' as they celebrated another milestone in a church restoration project that has been ongoing since 2011. Last fall, the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV) wrote and submitted a grant to Preserving Black Churches, a project of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP). Local officials were recently notified that the New Salem Baptist Church, built in 1921 for the Black community of Tams, emerged as one of the awardees in a 'very competitive' program and will receive $200,000 for church repairs. 'We found out close to Queenie's 88th birthday (Feb. 27) that, out of 622 applicants, there were only 30 (awardees) nationwide, and New Salem will receive $200,000,' Hunter said. Among the other capital projects on the 2025 African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund list are St. Mark's Presbyterian Church of Cleveland and the Dickerson Chapel AME Church of Hillsborough, N.C. The funds will be utilized locally for water infiltration, repairs to the bell tower, exterior work and efforts to secure the building envelope, Hunter said. Hunter discussed the funding allocation and the ongoing renovations of New Salem Baptist Church at the Feb. 25 regular meeting of the Beckley Common Council, which she serves as a councilwoman-at-large. 'Thank you, City of Beckley; thank you, everybody,' she said. • • • 'The community of Tams, no longer exists,' said Halstead, who has delivered messages and participated in services at New Salem and other historic churches in Raleigh County over the years. 'This is the last building standing in the community. And, I feel it's important to the building, to the community at-large, especially to the people that were raised in Tams and moved away, that this place would be preserved because it's part of their history. 'And, if we let our history die, we forget where we came from.' According to Halstead, the church was established on Sept. 25, 1921. 'The original pastor was Mr. (Burton Linwood) Ziegler. The services ran from that time up until the time that the pastor, Donald Cook, passed away (2022). The funds to build the church were provided by 'Major' Tams, the coal operator here. The community paid every dime of it back to him, so now they have a church here. 'Queen Schoolfield is the oldest surviving member. She will tell you that Major Tams made no difference between the white people and the Black people. What he provided for the white people, he provided for the Black people. 'He built or had built four churches — the church here at Tams, the church at Stotesbury (a white church), and down at Wyco, there was a Black church and a white church built, because this was the time of segregation. All of them are historical parts of the community.' 'It's a joy to be involved in this,' he continued. 'The restoration has been a community effort, it's been an effort by many parties. The main reason we're here today is because of Sister Queen Schoolfield (keeping a promise to her mother to keep the doors of the church open).' She has sold hot dogs at various locations in Beckley over the years 'just to pay the utilities of this place, to keep this place open,' Halstead said. At a time when 'there was no road to Beckley (and) the only way in here was to come through Mullens,' he said, the coal operator 'had to provide everything for the community' and 'He was faithful to provide this church, this church right here that we stand in today.' • • • 'We started the restoration in 2011,' Hunter said. 'I worked with Donald Cook, the pastor here, at the recycling center, and an unknown man was on the Burning Rock Trail and saw the church. So he saw that Donald Cook was the preacher, and he said 'I need to reach out.'' The man gave Cook $500 to have the church painted, Hunter recalled. Fred Lovell, the plant supervisor at the recycling center and a fellow work colleague of Hunter's and Cook's at the Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority, pointed out to Hunter that the church — in addition to a new paint job — was in need of a new roof. Back then, Hunter enlisted the aid of Dawn Dayton and The Register-Herald newspaper to publicize the fundraising needs, and Hunter wrote a grant to Beckley Area Foundation in which the foundation agreed to match $2,500 if the community raised a similar amount. 'Well, we raised $11,000,' Hunter said. 'In 2013, we finally got the roof on the church. Susan Landis (of the BAF), she lived to see that we got a new roof.' Another $6,000 to $7,000 was raised to provide for the soffit. In addition to grant funding and grassroots aid from other outside agencies and businesses and the community in general, one of the past contributions, according to Hunter, came from 'a Black gentleman in a nursing home who sent in $2 in an envelope to help buy a shingle.' The funding assistance and the community interest has been 'transformative,' said Hunter. She acknowledged the inspiration of individuals such as Cook, Halstead, Schoolfield, Pastor Paul Chapman and Gary Hosey, the latter of Beckley Praise Church, over the years. 'And it all started with Donald Cook and Fred Lovell and the Beckley Area Foundation, The Register-Herald for doing that unbelievable story (by Andrea Lannon in April 2011 entitled 'New Salem Restoration Project'...' 'And Sherrie Hunter is where it started,' chimed in the voice of a woman seated to Hunter's right on the front church pew on Thursday, March 6, the unwavering voice of Queenie Schoolfield. 'She always leaves herself out, babydoll,' she said of Hunter. 'If it wasn't for her, this wouldn't be going on now. And I thank God for her every day and every night before I go to bed. She's the one that has kept things going.' Hunter said her father, Quinn Barbera, was 'the milkman (Blossom Milk) for Tams, WV' in the 1950s. 'That means all the world to me; praise God from whom all blessings flow,' Schoolfield said of the ongoing preservation efforts. 'I appreciate this lady (Hunter), and I appreciate all these people.' • • • As the years progressed, those involved in the restoration work also knew the church should be recognized for its historical significance. 'We knew we had to get it on the (National Park Services' National Register of Historic Places),' said Hunter. With assistance from the PAWV, that process was initiated. 'David Taylor, an architectural specialist, came down and met with Queenie and David Sibray, of the Preservation Alliance, and he (Taylor) submitted an unbelievable comprehensive plan to the Department of the Interior and to the National Park Service.' Hunter, her husband, David Hunter, Sibray and Taylor found out in April 2023 in Charleston that the church was to be entered into the National Register. 'I was emotional,' she said. Hunter said Taylor then wrote a grant to the William C. Pomeroy Foundation for a historical marker on the grounds, which was unveiled in 2024. After that, the PAWV's Danielle Parker contacted Hunter to launch the process that resulted in the newest grant funding outlay. New Salem Baptist was also included in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of the 11 most endangered historic places in the nation for 2024, an annual program that raises awareness of the threats facing 'some of the nation's greatest treasures,' according to the PAWV website. Hunter detailed other agencies or individuals who have provided funding or assistance over the years, including the Coal Heritage Authority and Christy Bailey for providing a $5,000 matching grant, and the Raleigh County Commission for supplying $5,000 for that match. Those funds paid for major exterior work and landscaping for the church grounds. 'Also, we have had wonderful help from Dyane Corcoran and Beaver Coal.' Blair Frier, of ZMM Architects and Engineers, helped assess the church free of charge, Hunter said. Recently, the local Daughters of the American Revolution chapter donated $600 to the effort, she added. 'It's been a collaboration,' Hunter said. 'It's everybody working together to preserve this wonderful church.' • • • According to an entry in e-WV, an online encyclopedia of the West Virginia Humanities Council, 'Major' William Purviance Tams Jr. (May 19, 1883 to August 3, 1977) 'was recognized in southern West Virginia as the last of the old-time coal barons. Tams was born in Staunton, Va., and studied engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg. He went to work for entrepreneur Samuel Dixon in the New River coalfield in 1904. With the support of Dixon and J. O. Watts of Lynchburg, Tams launched his own company, Gulf Smokeless Coal, in the new Winding Gulf coalfield in 1908. He established the company town of Tams, Raleigh County, as his headquarters, and later acquired Wyoming Coal Company in neighboring Wyoming County. He invested in other mines as well and was a leader in industry associations.' • • • Although the church doesn't currently host regular services, homecoming services have been conducted there each July since 2023. There have also been two candlelight services, and a service is planned for 2 p.m. on the Sunday before Easter, with Chapman and Halstead officiating, and homecoming will return on the first Sunday in July. And, Halstead and Chapman will stage occasional services as the restoration process continues. The public is invited to attend the services. For her part, Schoolfield, who lives in Beckley, definitely plans to be there to honor a critical part of her past and future. 'I haven't missed a Sunday,' she said. 'I never have joined another church.' She also attends other churches, obviously, and says she has likely been to more churches with Halstead than she has with anybody else. The larger church community has been her community, she said. 'I lost my first son, and he didn't have insurance. All these churches raised money for me to bury my son.' Going to church back in the day gave her a solid path for her life, she said. 'During those days, our parents brought us (family of seven) to church,' she said. 'We didn't come on our own then; we were so young. We had to be at church for the 11 o'clock service, had to be right here.' 'After Sunday school, our Dad used to always ask us what we learned,' Schoolfield added. 'We had to tell him that. Each one of us had to say something ... and had to repeat a Bible verse (always different from the others) before we ate.' She 'learned so much' from that raising, she said. And, she gained knowledge and wisdom from the church and the community. 'We learned so much from the community,' she said. 'We had to love everybody. We learned more about the Lord then. 'Yes, Jesus Loves Me' was our favorite song.' Good memories such as Sunday school downstairs with 'coal heat and a big pot-bellied stove,' prayer meeting on Wednesday and church on Sunday, and choir practice on Tuesday evenings are still with her. 'I just enjoyed every bit of it.' She also remembers having a favorite seat in the back of the church at one point. 'My aunt said, 'Listen, you don't sit in the back. When the Lord comes, He gonna be up front.' From then on, I sat up here in the front seat.' That has resulted in her having a front seat to viewing history unfold.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'Preserving Black Churches' grant aims to save more sites like New Salem Baptist Church
TAMS, WV (WVNS) — A historic Black church located in Tams, WV receives a grant from the Preserving Black Churches program at the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. According to a press release, the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV), in partnership with New Salem Baptist Church, applied for the national grant program after nominating the church to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places List in 2024. Greenbrier Historical Society honors long-serving member on his 90th birthday In the 1920s, the coal company town of Tams had a population of approximately 1,250, which was divided into separate community areas for White, Black, and recent European immigrant workers. New Salem Baptist Church was constructed in 1921 for their Black community and served as a central gathering hub as well as a place to worship. The area's mine closed in the 1960s, and the church is one of the few remnants left of the coal company town. It is also one of the remaining buildings specifically related to the history of Black coal miners in West Virginia, who made up 26 percent of all mine workers in central Appalachia by 1920, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia and the vibrant New Salem Baptist Church congregation are truly honored to receive this prestigious grant award from the Preserving Black Churches program. We look forward to working together to preserve this sacred place for future generations to worship in the midst of their shared history. Danielle Parker | Executive Director, PAWV Remembering the Sago Mine Disaster The funding from the grant will go towards restoration of the church, including critical repairs to prevent water infiltration and secure the building envelope, as well as repairs to the bell tower and exterior, the release stated. The purpose of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is to further ongoing preservation efforts at historic sites, buildings, and landscapes that represent African American cultural heritage. With more than $150 million in funds, the Action Fund is the largest U.S. resource committed to the preservation of historic Black sites. The Preserving Black Churches program is meant to uplift and preserve historically Black Churches and the communities around them. Since its start in 2023. the initiative has supported congregations from Alaska to Florida in addressing preservation challenges, safeguarding their cultural and spiritual legacies, and provide vital social assistance. For more information about the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, the Preserving Black Churches program, and this year's PBC grant recipients, check out their website. For more information regarding the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia and their projects, visit their website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
