The purpose of the sub-grant program is to assist Georgia's cities and towns in promoting their community landmarks through heritage tourism. Community landmarks are the significant places that people associate with their town and its history. They could include historic courthouses, city halls, theatres, libraries, schools, cemeteries, hotels, churches, battlefields, parks and gardens, museums, commercial and residential historic districts, lighthouses, coastal fortifications, and archaeological sites. $80,000 in matching (50%/50%) funds is available.

Eligible projects will fall under the following categories: research and documentation; interpretation and education; planning; marketing; or training. The program does not include brick and mortar projects. Only communities that have been designated Preserve America communities or communities that are Certified Local Governments and have applied to become Preserve America communities are eligible to apply for the grant program.  To find out more about becoming a Preserve America community, please go to www.preserveamerica.gov.

This sub-grant program is part of a larger Preserve America grant awarded to HPD in late fall 2008.

The nine sub-grant recipients include the following:
Crawford County Board of Commissioners--$16,400 for a preservation plan for the historic Crawford County Courthouse
City of Savannah--$11,600 for a publication on the history of the city's Strathmore Estates neighborhood as part of the multi-dimensional Eastside Documentation Project
City of Augusta--$10,000 for Web-based historic downtown Augusta walking tours
City of Thomasville--$10,000 for Phase I signage for the new Thomasville Community Landmarks Multi-Use Trail project
City of Richmond Hill--$10,000 for new markers for the new Coastal Bryan Heritage Trail
City of Savannah--$10,000 to research, document and transfer historic burial records in Bonaventure and Colonial Park cemeteries into a technologically advanced, public-accessible computer database.
City of Kennesaw--$6,000 for Web site development for the Smith-Gilbert Gardens as part of a new marketing campaign
City of Roswell-- $4,500 for new signage for the historic Barrington Hall, Bulloch Hall, and the Smith Planation, as part of the citys Southern Trilogy marketing program.
City of Alpharetta-- $1,500 for a survey of the historic properties in the downtown Alpharetta area.
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Mark your calendars!

History and Heritage Tourism: Discovering Georgia's Community Landmarks conference will be held on March 25-26, 2010, at the historic Warms Springs Institute in Warm Springs.

Conference cosponsors include the Historic Preservation Division, the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Community Affairs, The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Chattahoochee-Flint Regional Development Center. Some of the featured sites will include the Warm Springs pools, Warm Springs, and the Little White House.

The conference is partially funded through a Preserve America grant awarded to HPD. More updates will be forthcoming!

Please contact Conference Coordinator Carole Moore at carole.moore@dnr.state.ga.us or at 404-463-8434 for more information.