Andover Center For History And Culture Receives Essex Heritage Grant

ANDOVER, MA — The Andover Center for History and Culture received a grant for its continued work on a database documenting people of color in the region prior to 1850, The Essex National Heritage Commission has announced.

The matching grant, for an undisclosed amount, is part of Essex Heritage's Partnership Grant Program. The program was created to support the activities of municipalities and organizations that preserve and enhance the historic, cultural and natural resources of the Essex County National Heritage Area — which includes the 34 cities and towns in Essex County — according to Essex Heritage

The grant for the Andover Center for History and Culture, which is located at 97 Main St., will help the organization begin the second phase of its Andover Persons of Color Project. The project involves creating an easy-to-navigate, accessible online database of free, enslaved and people of color in Andover between 1646 and 1850.

The database will allow researchers to search by name and keywords to reach an individual's record. Once there, the information will be organized in an easily, readable format, which, if possible, will include a narrative, according to the project organizers.

Since the Essex Heritage Partnership Grant Program began, more than $1.6 million has been invested in local projects.

Grants were awarded to 12 different projects in the most recent round of funding.

"Over the next year, the 12 grant recipients will be working to implement a diverse range of educational, interpretive, inclusionary and preservation projects throughout Boston's North Shore and the Merrimack Valley," Essex Heritage said in a statement.

Essex Heritage continued: "We recognize the importance of supporting local organizations and we are proud that we are able to award 12 partnership grants again this year. Over the life of the program we have provided grants to every community in Essex County — and we know that this seed money greatly impacts the region by leveraging more investments in the Essex National Heritage Area."