State Historic Preservation Office Honors Rockingham Historic Preservation Commission and Coordinator

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 3, 2024

State Historic Preservation Office Honors Rockingham Historic Preservation Commission and Coordinator

MONTPELIER, Vt. - State Historic Preservation Officer Laura V. Trieschmann presented the award for Preservation Excellence to the Rockingham Historic Preservation Commission and their coordinator, Walter Wallace. The award recognizes the stewardship and ambitious efforts of the Commission to encourage the appreciation and preservation of Rockingham's long and rich Native heritage, important Revolutionary War history, and 19th and 20th century development. John Leppman, Karen Jarret, Annette Spaulding, and Elijah Zimmer serve as commissioners.

"The Division for Historic Preservation is exceptionally proud to honor the Rockingham Historic Preservation Commission and their dedicated coordinator," stated State Historic Preservation Officer Laura V. Trieschmann. "Their efforts to provide education, celebrate our history, and foster excitement in preservation deserves recognition and should serve to inspire others."

Designated as a Certified Local Government in 1993, Rockingham has strengthened its local preservation efforts through direct participation in the identification, evaluation, registration, and preservation of historic properties. This engagement, with funding in part from the State Historic Preservation Office, includes Old House Awards, technical support to property owners through workshops and consultations, speaker series, and support for the stewardship and interpretation of Rockingham's many sites and historic districts. For the Rockingham Meeting House, a National Historic Landmark built in 1787 and owned by the town, the Commission has organized a conference on graveyard conservation, conducted historic window assessments, and analyzed the original paint colors (it was red).

The enthusiastic stewardship of Rockingham's heritage has resulted in several significant grant awards from the National Park Service. In 2022 the town received Vermont's first Underrepresented Communities Grant to revisit the sacredness of the Bellows Falls Petroglyph Site and update the Bellows Falls Island National Register of Historic Places nomination. In February 2024, the town was awarded a Save America's Treasures grant for the restoration and preservation of the Rockingham Meeting House, which is the largest intact 18th century public building in Vermont. Just this month the town represented Vermont as one of 19 historic preservation projects from nine states receiving funding through the Semiquincentennial Grants, which were created specifically for places like Rockingham Meeting House that represent the founding of our nation.