St. Charles to receive historic preservation grant

Gov. Jay Nixon announced Wednesday that the city of St. Charles, a certified local government (CLG), will receive a $19,500 grant through the federal Historic Preservation Fund.

The city will use the grant to conduct Phase One of the Historic Architectural Survey of the St. Charles Mid-Town and Commons Neighborhoods. The survey will identify potential National Register Historic Districts as well as properties individually eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 authorizes a program of federal matching grants, known as the Historic Preservation Fund, to assist the various states in carrying out historic preservation activities. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS) and in Missouri is administered through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' State Historic Preservation office (SHPO).

Under changes made to the act in 1980 each state is required to earmark a minimum of 10 percent of its Historic Preservation Fund monies for exclusive use by CLGs. Local governments establish this designation by authorizing a historic preservation program that meets certain standards set by the state and the NPS. Local governments that maintain CLG status are considered to be partners with the SHPO and the NPS in the nation's historic preservation program.

Missouri currently has 49 local governments that have attained CLG status.

The grants were awarded based on a competitive scoring process and the direct relation of the projects to the identification, evaluation, or protection of historical, architectural or archaeological resources. Grant-funded projects must pertain to the accomplishment of the state Historic Preservation officer's responsibilities as outlined in the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, must be carried out in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Archaeology and Historic Preservation and must meet requirements of the National Register Programs Guideline (NPS-49).