Eleven historic Central Whidbey landmarks will receive funding for building preservation projects.
Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve Trust Board and Friends of Ebey’s announced the allocation of $85,000 in a press release Friday. The board received 11 applications for this year’s grant funds and gave partial funding to every applicant.
The recipients are the Abbott/Knowles House, the Bearss/Barratt House, Captain Whidbey Inn, the Comstock Well House, the Haller House, the Hampton/Gould House, the Joseph Libbey House, the E.O. Lovejoy House, the McWilliams Barn, the Dr. White House and the Zylstra House.
Ebey’s Reserve Manager Marie Shimada said this year’s grant recipients include projects all over the reserve, from the McWilliams Barn north of Penn Cove to the Hampton/Gould House on the reserve’s southern border.
The grant also attracted four new applicants this year. Shimada said she and other reserve officials are excited to partner with local organizations as well as private landowners.
Projects funded by this grant will focus on building rehabilitation. At the Haller House, grant money will contribute to siding repairs. The Abbott/Knowles House will receive a new foundation. At Captain Whidbey Inn, the grant will fund window rehabilitation. Several buildings, including the E.O. Lovejoy House, will get new roofs.
“They’re all exciting in their own unique way,” Shimada said of the projects.
One project she is particularly enthusiastic about is maintenance at the Comstock Well House, which will keep the structure standing over the 150-foot, hand-dug well.
The Ebey’s Forever Grant program is funded entirely through private donations to the Friends of Ebey’s and draws on the knowledge of many local and state historic preservation experts, including representatives from state parks and the state Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation.
The Ebey’s Forever Grant program has provided funding for over 100 preservation projects since its inception in 2011.
The McWilliams Barn
Dr. White House
