by Scott Hayes
The province just announced nearly $1.5 million in funding to help communities and community organizations preserve and promote their histories.
“By documenting and recording the history of our communities and through the conservation of local historic places, Albertans are bringing the story of Alberta’s past to life. Their efforts are helping to create new opportunities while strengthening pride in our communities and our province,” wrote Minister of Culture and Tourism David Eggen in a prepared press release.
More than 60 projects across the province stand to benefit from the grants through the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation’s Heritage Preservation Partnership Program. The program offers funding through several different categories and St. Albert’s history stands to benefit in a number of ways.
The Arts and Heritage Foundation received two Historic Resource Conservation grants for the two iconic grain elevators located in the city’s Mission neighbourhood.
A grant for $5,440 will assist the AHF with the costs of repairs to the deteriorated paint surface of the siding on the Alberta Grain Company Grain Elevator. Built in 1906, it is one of the oldest extant elevators in the province built by one of its earliest grain companies, and continued to operate until 1989 when St. Albert ceased to be a railway point for grain export.
Another grant for $5,860 will also offer up some touch-ups to the paint along with some repairs to the damage caused by a hail storm on the walls of the Alberta Wheat Pool Grain Elevator. This structure was built in 1929, this is one of the oldest Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevators in the province and is an icon for the agricultural history of the region and is an important symbol for the heritage of Alberta’s economy.
The AHF also received a publication grant in the amount of $7,500 to produce a history of the Cunningham and Hogan houses. The research that comes out of this work will focus on the “structural, material and narrative/human history” of two surviving early 20th-century Métis dwellings as the basis for conservation and interpretation.
The St. Albert Historical Society also received a $12,160 Heritage Awareness Grant to install three informational signs. The three interpretive panels are set to be located at spots around the St. Albert Parish Church including the grotto and the crypt as part of a self-guided walking interpretive program linking the St. Albert Mission Hill complex to downtown St. Albert.
The Alberta Historical Resources Foundation is a public trust foundation mandated by the Historical Resources Act to promote public awareness and enjoyment of Alberta's heritage. It provides for financial and technical assistance to initiatives that preserve and interpret Alberta's heritage through a variety of specific programs including the Heritage Preservation Partnership Program.
It also provides funding for the installation of provincial heritage markers, makes decisions on geographic names, hears from interested parties respecting the possible designation of historic resources, and ensures curatorial care and public access of provincial collections through funding to the Glenbow Museum.
