Asbury Grove Historical Society Receives Essex Heritage Grant

Hamilton, MA - The Asbury Grove Historical Society was one of 20 recent recipients of an Essex Heritage Grant on the North Shore.

The Essex National Heritage Commission (Essex Heritage), in keeping with its long tradition of supporting the region’s unique cultural heritage, announced the 2016 Essex Heritage Partnership Grant Program recipients at the Commission’s Spring Meeting in Newburyport on April 14. Over the next year, the 20 grant recipients will be working to implement a diverse range of educational, interpretive, and preservation projects throughout Boston’s North Shore.

“We recognize the importance of supporting local organizations” said Annie Harris, Essex Heritage CEO, “and we are proud that we are able to award twenty partnership grants this year – not only in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the Congressional Act that designated the Essex National Heritage Area but also because we know that this seed money greatly impacts the region by leveraging more investments in Essex County.”

Through its restoration and interpretation of the “History Cottage,” the Asbury Grove Historical Society seeks to educate the public about daily life in a camp meeting community, circa 1900. Operating continuously since 1859, the Victorian-era cottage community in South Hamilton has a prominent role in the camp meeting movement. Over the past three summers society members have worked to stabilize and restore one of Asbury Grove’s 120 original buildings, a Carpenter Gothic-style summer cottage built in 1880. During the upcoming building season volunteers will use Essex Heritage funding to install a new, period appropriate roof and restore the cottage’s elaborate gingerbread ornamentation.

Essex Heritage is the non-profit organization that manages the Essex National Heritage Area by developing programs that enhance, preserve, and encourage recreation, education, conservation and interpretation projects on Boston’s North Shore and the Lower Merrimack River Valley. The Essex National Heritage Area is comprised of the 34 cities and towns of Essex County, MA. For more information, visitwww.EssexHeritage.org or call (978) 740-0444.