The Kansas State Historic Preservation Office (KSHPO) announced the seven recipients of the 2023 Heritage Trust Fund Grant Awards. The Old Sylvan State Bank building on Sylvan’s Main Street will receive $100,000 to aid in renovation costs for the building. The grant funds will be used to help stabilize and reconstruct portions of the roof and floor structure after a collapse occurred last spring.
Among the organization’s many responsibilities are maintaining the Registers of Historic Places in the state including a database of registered properties In Kansas, listing a property for consideration, pending nominations, thematic nominations and National Historic Landmarks within the state.
The organization also deals with site protection in accordance with federal and state laws, surveys of historic resources across the state including historic buildings, historical markers and archeological sites; certification requirements, grants, contacts within communities with local programs; archeology and the Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review.
KSHPO is also a resource for property owners and the various preservation programs available. Listed properties might be eligible for available resources, tax credits, technical assistance, Preserving Kansas Listserv, an eGroup for historic preservationists across Kansas, including SHPO staff, local governments, local preservation commission members, designers, contractors and building owners. Anyone with an interest in historic preservation and the retention of the built environment is encouraged to join. Feel free to post questions on any preservation topic, discuss local and statewide issues, and offer your own creative solutions to other queries.
A quarterly magazine called Kansas Preservation was produced from 1978 to 2015. The publication included information about Kansas properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Register of Historic Kansas Places, along with information about historic preservation grants and tax credit programs and archeology programs in Kansas. Back issues are available online.
