March 28, 2024
Local News

Glidden Homestead awarded $2,500 grant to restore 159-year-old front stairs

DeKALB – The Glidden Homestead has received a $2,500 grant to help with preservation efforts at the 159-year-old Glidden Homestead and Historical Center.

According to a news release from the Landmarks Illinois, the grant money will help restore the front stairs of the historical center, 921 W. Lincoln Highway, which is the former home of Joseph F. Glidden, the inventor of barbed wire and co-founder of Northern Illinois University.

Other cities with historical landmarks that were awarded grant money include Elgin, Glencoe, Pleasant Plains, Salem and Rock Island, the release states, with a total of $16,000 divided up between the sites.

The $2,500 is a matching grant from the Landmarks Illinois Preservation Heritage Fund, and requires the recipients to raise equal or greater funds in order to receive the grant money for projects.

Landmarks Illinois is a statewide nonprofit that provides resources and expertise to help preserve historical sites in the state. The Heritage Fund grant program was created in 2004 and provides a focus on engineering, architectural and feasibility studies, stabilization, legal services, survey and National Register nominations as well as preservation ordinance support.

Applications for Preservation Heritage Fund grants are accepted four times a year in February, May, August and November. The next application deadline is Feb. 15.

Note: this article has been edited to clarify that Landmarks Illinois is not affiliated with the Illinois state government.