The Tennessee Historical Commission announced Aug. 11 that it is distributing $1.1 million in Federal Historic Preservation Fund grants across the state, and two Maury County projects made the list.
The African American Heritage Society of Maury County will receive $9,000 to help restore the foundation of the Mrs. A.J. Morton & Son Funeral Home, a piece of local Black history the society has been working to preserve. Maury County government itself will receive a larger award, $60,000, to restore the roof of the War Memorial Building.
The grants work as a reimbursement, covering 60 percent of eligible project costs, with recipients responsible for the remaining 40 percent match. The money is administered through the Tennessee Historical Commission, which also serves as the state's official State Historic Preservation Office.
Miranda Montgomery, the office's interim executive director, framed the funding as part of a broader statewide preservation effort. "The Federal Historic Preservation Fund grant program allows the Tennessee Historical Commission to make tangible progress in the preservation and study of our state's treasured historic places," she said.
For Maury County, the two awards target very different kinds of history under the same roof of state support: a funeral home tied to the county's African American community, and a public monument built to honor those who served. Both buildings had been in need of structural work, and neither project would likely have moved forward on local funding alone.
Sources: Tennessee Historical Commission. Maury County Source.