The WFHS Board of Directors is pleased to announce that as of March 25, 2019 the grant application we resubmitted to the History Colorado State Historical Fund has been approved and fully executed. We were awarded $71,928 for the Exterior Rehabilitation of the Howard Free Methodist Church building, which is now the WFHS History Center and houses our community’s archives and artifacts. Combined with the 25% cash match of $24,000 we raised, the total amount raised for this project is $95,928! Many thanks to those of you who contributed to the cash match that enabled us to secure this generous grant, including The Pleasant Valley Club of Howard, Western Fremont Historical Society, The Anschutz Foundation, Sangre de Cristo Electric Assn Board of Directors, SDCEA Operation Roundup, and CoBank Sharing Success. And a special thank you to the people of Western Fremont County for your generous donations–the outpouring of support from our community has been truly heart-warming and we couldn’t have done it without you!
The WFHS Church Preservation Project will be a multi-stage undertaking over the next two years and will be completed by March 25, 2021. We are fortunate to have secured the help of two highly respected experts in historical preservation, architect Barbara Darden of Scheuber & Darden Architects and local restoration specialist Mike Perschbacher of Older Than Dirt Construction. Although the church building is in remarkably good condition given its age and history, there is a critical need now for some essential physical repairs, especially to the foundation, exterior siding, windows restoration, the porch, and of course the peeling paint! There are a lot of moving parts to this project, and we look forward to getting started as soon as possible.”
Ellen Hopkins, Project Manager