Funding Applications Available for Historic Preservation Grant Program

The Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission is accepting applications for the 2025 Somerset County Historic Preservation Grant Program. This grant helps support local history organizations that serve the public. Potential applicants include historical societies and organizations, nonprofits, or municipalities that are responsible for a historic structure or archaeological site.

“Since 1999, our historic preservation program has allocated over $23 million to save and rehabilitate 57 historic sites throughout Somerset County,” said Deputy Director Melonie Marano, liaison to the Cultural and Heritage Commission. “These preservation projects give residents an opportunity to discover and explore local sites that exist within their own neighborhoods. It also allows the County to offer more immersive experiences, like the popular Docent Training Program, which trained residents to become volunteer tour guides at our historic sites.”

In 2024, the County celebrated its 25th year of the program, which provides funding for acquisition, restoration, preservation, and planning of historic sites deemed eligible for, or listed on, the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.

Grant Guidelines

Funding is competitive and will be awarded to organizations that demonstrate managerial competency, fiscal stability, excellence in historic preservation and programming, and the organizational capacity to execute a proposed program or project. Grant funding may be requested for projects in construction or planning that follow the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Preservation and Standards for Rehabilitation.

This grant opportunity is made possible by funds from the Somerset County Open Space, Recreation, Farmland, and Historic Preservation Trust Fund.

Submission Deadline

Somerset County Historic Preservation Grant applications are due by 4 p.m. on Friday, June 13, 2025. Applications must be mailed or hand-delivered to the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, County Administration Building, 20 Grove Street, P.O. Box 3000, Somerville, New Jersey 08876. For more information about application guidelines, visit Historic Preservation Grant Program | Somerset County.

Somerset County Historic Preservation Grant Technical Assistance Workshops

It is strongly recommended that organizations attend at least one of the two free SC HPGP Technical Assistance Workshops that will be hosted virtually on:

May 5, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. – https://bit.ly/May5thWorkshop

• Meeting ID: 233 433 205 936
• Passcode: yW9VA6Be

May 12, 2025, at 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. – https://bit.ly/May12thWorkshop

• Meeting ID: 266 644 949 284
• Passcode: yX3Si9Xf

For more information, contact the Cultural & Heritage office at 908-231-7021 or CulturalHeritage@co.somerset.nj.us.

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About Somerset County

The County of Somerset is committed to excellence and innovation in public service, promoting the well-being of all residents and communities by providing effective, efficient, and responsive leadership.

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