Preserve Rhode Island, 1772 Foundation, and USDA Invest in the Varnum House Museum’s Future
The Varnum House Museum recently won two significant grants towards securing its future as a Rhode Island community hub for history, culture, science, and learning. These grant awards show the progress made towards re-establishing the Varnum House as a long-term cultural fixture in Rhode Island since an unsuccessful effort in late 2023 to sell the Varnum House Museum into private ownership.
The details of the two grants are as follows:
— Preserve Rhode Island (partnered with The 1772 Foundation, Inc.): This matching grant for $4,000 facilitates restoration and refurbishment of the museum’s iconic front entrance. This front entrance is the museum’s “first impression” to the public. Efforts here will focus on paint, masonry, and repair to the door, benches, and Ionic-style pilasters and columns. This front entrance is the museum’s “first impression” to the public and has welcomed thousands of visitors into the Varnum House over decades.
— People’s Garden Project Grant: This $11,268 matching grant comes from a collaborative effort between the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District (SRICD), Rhode Island State Conservation Committee (RISCC), and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services (USDA NRCS). This collaborative has funded the Varnum House Museum’s exciting “Historic Preservation Gardens” project. This effort reimagines the Varnum House grounds to include the addition of native plant species, pollinator gardens, an “Three Sisters” garden (to acknowledge indigenous cultivation methods), and “science & health” gardens focusing on the historic uses of certain plants as medicines, dyes, finishes, and foods.
“Our leadership team, volunteers, and community partners have worked hard to make the Varnum House Museum a valued and permanent fixture in the fabric of Rhode Island history and culture,” said Joanne Breslin, Director of the Varnum House Museum. “These granting organization see what we’re trying to accomplish here as community landmark that seeks to establish educational programs serving a diverse audience.”
The Varnum House Museum’s efforts to provide educational programs covering civil society and military history, crafts, culture, and science have great momentum and are continuous.
Varnum House Museum Links: https://bio.site/varnumhouse
