Morris County OKs $3.6M to preserve local history, from old church to train stations
Twenty-one historic sites in Morris County have been awarded $3.6 million in grants to help restore and preserve the properties.
The county Board of Commissioners approved the funding earlier this week, in its latest annual round of historic preservation grants based on recommendations from the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust Fund Review Board.
This largest award went to the Madison Masonic Lodge, a two-century-old former church that the borough agreed to buy for $1.1 million last year to save it from demolition. Madison will receive $562,500 from the county toward the purchase of the Federal-style building on Main Street. It housed the Chatham Presbyterian Church before it was sold to the Madison Masonic Lodge no. 93 in 1931.
Dover, Mountain Lakes, Rockaway Twp. get grants
Other awards included a $433,000 grant to partially restore the Mountain Lakes train station, $400,000 to restore the interior and replace the roof of Rockaway Township's Ford-Faesch House and $398,172 to rehabilitate Mount Olive's Italianate-style Seward farmhouse, which dates back to 1800.
The 1875-era Orchard Street Cemetery Gatehouse received two grants totalling $10,000 to develop a preservation plan and pursue a nomination to historic registers.
The grants are used for "the acquisition, stabilization, rehabilitation, restoration or preservation of historic resources by municipalities, qualified non-profits and the county," the county review board said on their website.
Grants went to projects in 16 towns across the county. About 77% of the recommended funding will be used for construction in 12 projects. The rest of the money is recommended for non-construction work at nine other sites. Over the last two decades, Morris County has provided $50 million in funding to aid 123 sites, the commissioners said.
“Our historic preservation program has been supported by taxpayers for more than 20 years," Commissioner Deputy Director Stephen Shaw, a liaison to the board, said in a press release. "While the funding preserves our county’s unique heritage by restoring and protecting the fabric of our history, it also supports economic development, tourism and educational opportunities that enhance the overall quality of life of our communities."
“As Morris County prepares to host the 250th Anniversary of our nation’s independence in 2026, many of the 123 funded historic sites will be on display for visitors to appreciate,” he added.
The list of recipients include:
- Madison Masonic Lodge - Acquisition -- $562,500
- Mountain Lakes Train Station - Partial Exterior Restoration --$433,520
- Ford-Faesch House, Rockaway Twp. - Interior Restoration --$400,000
- Seward House, Mount Olive - Interior Restoration --$398,172
- Pompton Plains Railroad Station, Pequannock - Exterior Rehabilitation --$345,723
- Cook House, East Hanover - Exterior Restoration --$334,000
- Ayres Farm Garage, Denville - Exterior Restoration --$254,800
- Lafayette School, Roxbury - Exterior Restoration --$241,608
- Acorn Hall, Morristown - Interior Restoration --$176,360
- L'Ecole Kinnelon Museum - Electrical Upgrades -- $138,704
- Darress Theatre, Boonton - Construction Documents --$106,450
- Millington Schoolhouse, Long Hill - Construction Documents --$44,000
- Arthur W. Condict House, Dover - Windows and Turret --$40,000
- Martin Berry House, Pequannock - Landscape Plan --$31,922
- Craftsman Farms, Parsippany-Troy Hills - Hall Restoration --$26,772
- Schuyler-Hamilton House, Morristown - Construction Documents --$26,360
- Growing Stage, Netcong - Construction Documents --$24,800
- Chamberlain House, Jefferson - Preservation Plan --$16,160
- Museum of Early Trades & Crafts, Madison - Clock Restoration --$15,280
- Orchard Street Cemetery Gatehouse, Dover - Preservation Plan --$5,000
- Orchard Street Gatehouse, Dover - Nomination to Historic Registers -- $5,000
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