Jasper Area Historical Society awarded grant


The Jasper Area Historical Society has received a $9,915 grant from the Minnesota Historical Society to hire a consultant to determine if the Museum building is eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Society’s hope is that being on the National Register would open up large grant opportunities to make needed repairs to the Museum. File photo

The Minnesota Historical Society has awarded a $9,915 grant to the Jasper Area Historical Society to hire a consultant to complete an evaluation to determine if the Museum building is eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Historical Society submitted the application for the grant in January and the Minnesota Historical Society announced last week that it was one of 47 Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Small Grant recipients.

Jasper Area Historical Society Secretary Briana Conrad said it was exciting to receive the grant.

“We’re hoping it’s a good start to get us rolling,” she said.

Conrad said the Historical Society has hired Alexa McDowell, an architectural historian with AKAY Consulting out of Minneapolis to complete the evaluation. She said McDowell previously did some work in Jasper with Reclaim Community.

Conrad said she’s not sure how long it will take McDowell to perform the evaluation, but that the Historical Society has a year to use the grant. If the Museum is determined to be eligible to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, Conrad said the Historical Society would seek another grant to hire someone to complete the application process through the U.S. Department of the Interior.

She said being listed on the National Register would open doors to larger grants that could be used to make needed large-scale structural repairs to the building.

The Historical Society roped off the sidewalk on the west side of the Museum earlier this year after a stone fell from the exterior wall. The building also needs tuck pointing, the south wall is bowing and water has infiltrated the walls and caused damage to the interior.

Conrad said she expects the process to have the property placed on the National Register, if successful, will take at least a coupe years.

The Museum building, historically known as the Poorbaugh building, was built as a woodworking and planing plant in 1889 using Sioux Quartzite mined in the local quarry. Nearly 100 years later in 1980, the Jasper Historical Society purchased the property from John and Clare Davidson, who were the long-time owners of the Jasper Journal. The Poorbaugh building had served as the Jasper Journal office for many years.