Claflin University to Receive Funding to Preserve Trustee Hall
Jun 17, 2020
Claflin University will receive historic preservation funds from the National Park Service. "These federal investments in our HBCU campuses play an important role in the preservation and restoration of critical pieces of American history," Congressman James Clyburn said in a news release.
"Many of these buildings were built more than a century ago by student labor and designed by unsung black architects," Clyburn said. "When the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Historic Preservation reauthorization was adopted as part of the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act last year, it ensured that the history of many of our nation's most treasured historical sites and institutions will not be forgotten. This support will have transformational impacts on these campuses and the surrounding communities."
Claflin will receive $446,569 for the Trustee Hall preservation and restoration initiative. Trustee Hall was built in 1893 under Claflin University's third president, the Rev. Lewis Dunton. The building made it possible for Claflin to offer additional training in industry and trade.
In 1998, at the request of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Government Accountability Office conducted a survey of preservation needs at HBCUs that found 712 structures on 103 HBCU campuses in need of historic preservation. The projected cost to preserve and restore those buildings was $755 million.
To date, the National Park Service has awarded more than $60 million in grants to over 80 of the remaining active HBCUs. [Times and Democrat]