COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
MASSACHUSETTS SENATE
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON 02133-1053
Senator Joan B. Lovely
State Senator
2nd Essex District
Phone: (617) 722-1410
Email: joan.lovely@masenate.gov
PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
TOPSFIELD HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO RECEIVE STATE GRANT TO PRESERVE CIVIL WAR MEMORIAL
(Boston) Today Senator Joan Lovely announced that the town of Topsfield will benefit from a grant program developed by the Massachusetts Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The Topsfield Historical Society will receive $2,350 to refurbish a Civil War monument, “Wounded Color Sergeant,” which sits in the town Common. The monument was originally dedicated in 1914.
“Topsfield is a historic community, and this grant will help the town continue to memorialize the story of America,” said Senator Lovely. “The town Common is a treasure for the residents of Topsfield, and the newly refurbished Civil War memorial will only make it more so. I can’t wait to see the final result.”
A partnership of the state’s Department of Veterans’ Services, the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, and the Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, the grant program provides matching grants of up to 50 percent of a project’s total cost, but not exceeding $5,000, to preserve existing Civil War memorials, monuments, and other sites. Grants were also awarded for construction of new markers for significant historical sites as well as preservation planning. Applicants were either Massachusetts municipalities or non-profit organizations such as local historical societies and commissions.
“Massachusetts leads the nation in providing resources and benefits to our veterans and military families utilizing innovative collaborations to maximize resources,” said Department of Veterans’ Services Secretary Coleman Nee. “This Commission is another great example of state, local and private organizations working together to preserve the history of the Civil War and ensure that future generations will remember the sacrifices and honor the memory of the brave men and women who came before them.”
With the commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War lasting through 2015, the Commission hopes to secure additional appropriations so they can conduct further rounds of grant awards and perhaps expand the program to include preservation of historic Civil War documents.
“The preservation aspect of this outstanding project is one more example of how Massachusetts preserves the past for future generations,” said Robert von Wolfgang, Commission Chair. “It also clearly demonstrates that the Civil War is a lot closer in time than most people think.”
For more information, visit the Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission’s website: www.MA150.org.
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