Alliance for Historic Wyoming announces recipients of Historic Architecture Assistance Fund Grants

March 11, 2013 - PRLog -- The Alliance for Historic Wyoming (AHW) is pleased to announce three Historic Architecture Assistance Fund (HAAF) grant awards for this quarter.  

The Spear-O-Wigwam Ranch near Sheridan is a former dude ranch which dates back to the early 1920s when most of its 16 log structures were built.  In 1928, Ernest Hemingway completed his novel A Farewell to Arms on the campus and his name was lent to the cabin where he stayed.  In 2011, the Northern Wyoming Community College District purchased Spear-O-Wigwam for its Outdoor Leadership degree program and Outdoor Adventure Club, and to host outdoor learning experiences for elementary and secondary school students as well as the community at large.  

Due to age and neglect, the tipi-and-spear-shaped main lodge and the Hemingway cabin are both in need of repair.  The HAAF grant will provide Northern Wyoming Community College with a detailed plan for rehabilitating the two buildings.  Spear-O-Wigwam manager Micah Olsen says that Northern Wyoming Community College is committed to the restoration of these buildings for use by students, educators, and community members from Wyoming and across the country.

Also in Sheridan County, the stone barns on the Rule Ranch date from the turn of the century and are representative of stone construction found along Piney Creek near Sheridan.  Lesley Gilmore of CTA Architects has been engaged to assess the barns, which have cracks in the walls and foundations, and to develop a plan for their repair.  The Rules are 3rd generation ranchers with a love of agriculture and are excited to preserve the barns for both their usefulness and their historic significance.  They currently live in a stone house on the property which they have been rehabilitating over the last few years.

Finally, the Frontier Prison in Rawlins will receive a HAAF grant to evaluate the roof structure on Cell Block A, the oldest portion of the 1901 prison complex.  According to site director Tina Hill, over 14,000 visitors tour the site annually.  Jerry Myers of Myers-Anderson Architects in Evanston, Wyoming, will be evaluating the roofing problem and developing a rehabilitation plan.

Historic Architecture Assistance Fund (HAAF) grants connect historic preservation architects and engineers with historic building owners to address rehabilitation issues with a plan that both honors the building’s past and meets the owner’s future needs. HAAF grants are available to all owners of historic buildings, including private property owners, nonprofit corporations and government agencies. The grants are given for historic buildings (over 50 years of age) in need of rehabilitation, whose owners intend to maintain or restore the historic integrity of the property. Historic properties that have benefited from this program include: Natrona County High School (Casper), the Sheridan Fairgrounds (Sheridan), the Moulton Barn (Moose), the Old Shoshone Tribal Roads Office (Fort Washakie), and the chimney at the Heart Mountain Internment Camp (Powell).

The next deadline for grant applications is April 15, 2013.  Applications can be found on AHW’s website at www.historicwyoming.org.

This program is offered by AHW in partnership with Wyoming Main Street and the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office, and is made possible by a grant from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund. AHW is Wyoming’s only active statewide historic preservation nonprofit. AHW is dedicated to protecting our historic and cultural resources in both the built and natural environments. For additional information about HAAF grant funding visit www.HistoricWyoming.org, call 307.333.3508, or email carlyann.anderson@historicwyoming.org.