Historical commission grant bump aids Butler County society
Although it has been years and years since anyone has lived in the Sen. Walter Lowrie Shaw House on Diamond Street, the Butler County Historical Society still pays utilities on the building, which serves as its main base of operations.
The increase in the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission’s minimum grant funding from $4,000 to $8,000 this year could not have come at a better time, according to Jennifer Ford, director of the Butler County Historical Society.
The historical society received $8,000 from the commission this year, which will mainly be used to pay for utilities, Ford said.
“Everybody got a substantial increase, and that’s extremely timely, because our utility bills have gone up twofold, so it is needed and greatly appreciated,” she said. “That eases the utility bills a bit.”
The commission this year awarded nearly $4 million in Cultural and Historical Support Grants to 173 eligible museums and official county historical societies in Pennsylvania. This an increase over previous years by $2 million, according to the commission. Grants are awarded on a formula based on a percentage of the organization’s annual operating budget with a maximum grant of $62,000 and a minimum grant of $4,000.
The Butler County Historical Society owns and maintains three historic buildings — the Lowrie House, the Little Red School House on Jefferson Street and Cooper Cabin in Winfield Township. According to Ford, the Lowrie House has bills for electricity, gas, water, trash pickup and phone connection, and the society pays for insurance on its buildings as well as some utilities at its satellite sites.
“We are always grateful to receive that grant; we built it into our budget,” Ford said.
Historic Harmony Inc. also received $5,100 from the commission. Ford said she expects the society to receive the money early next year, and it has to be allocated within the fiscal year it is awarded.
