Norwalk, CT - Two Norwalk organizations have received grant awards from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, news that state Senator Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) and Representative Chris Perone (D-Norwalk) today welcomed. St. Paul’s on-the-Green will receive $6,375 and the Village Creek Historic District has been awarded $2,000 through the trust’s Historic Preservation Technical Assistance Grant program.
“Norwalk has a rich cultural history,” said Senator Duff, who co-chairs the General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee’s Conservation and Development Subcommittee. “Our historical land and structures enhance our community and our culture, providing a window into our history for future generations. I’m very pleased that the Connecticut Trust has again recognized the importance of Norwalk’s history and has chosen to support both St. Paul’s and Village Creek this year.”
“By preserving these important links to Norwalk’s past, we not only inform the world of what we choose to protect and cherish but also we preserve a living tribute to who we were,” said Representative Perone. “Because of this with, with each passing year we are able to gain more perspective on who we are as a community. In short, our past defines us much as our present which is why the grants to preserve Village Creek and St. Paul’s on-the-Green is so important and appreciated by me and the rest of the community.”
Norwalk Mutual Housing will receive the $2,000 grant to prepare a National Register nomination for the Village Creek Historic District. The district contains 64 mid-century modern houses and is culturally significant because the Village Creek Homeowners Association’s deed restrictions include pioneering covenants barring discrimination. At a time in history when many deed restrictions sought to exclude certain racial, ethnic and religious groups, Village Creek actively engaged them as neighbors.
“We appreciate the support of Senator Duff and other members of the Norwalk Legislative Delegation in helping to secure a Historic Preservation Technical Assistance Grant to be used in preparing the nomination of Village Creek for listing on the National Register of Historic Places,” said Marsha Powell, president of the Village Creek Homeowners Association. “Recognition of the social and architectural contributions of the Village Creek Homeowners Association would be a welcome adjunct to the celebration of our sixtieth anniversary this year.”
The congregation of St. Paul’s on-the-Green was awarded $6,375 to conduct a topographical survey of the cultural landscape of the historic churchyard, which will be used to inform preservation, maintenance and development projects. The site contains cultural features dating to the colonial beginnings of Norwalk, more than 400 grave markers, outbuildings, stonewalls, a labyrinth and walking paths.
The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation awarded $309,796 in technical assistance grants to 41 nonprofit organizations and municipalities across the state.
The Historic Preservation Technical Assistance Grant program is a collaborative historic preservation granting program of the Connecticut Trust, made possible with funding from the Connecticut General Assembly, the Connecticut Humanities Council and the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism through the Community Investment Act. The grants are designed to support efforts that help communities plan for the preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of historic buildings and projects throughout the state.
Established in 1975 by the General Assembly, the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation is a nonprofit organization that works to protect and nourish the vitality of significant buildings and landscapes in the state.
