JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) has announced the 2023 grantees for the Mississippi Historic Site Preservation Grant (MHSPG) program.
In 2021, the Legislature authorized the creation of the MHSPG program to acquire sites related to Civil War battles, Native American archaeology, and civil rights history. These funds will allow endangered and significant properties to be preserved.
Funds in the MHSPG program are used to defray costs for land acquisition to protect historic properties. A one-to-one match is required.
For example, an organization receiving $50,000 from MDAH must provide $50,000 in matching funds or other eligible equivalent, which cannot be from other state sources.
Hayley Smith, a federal programs specialist at MDAH, said the program helps provide proper funding for their partners to fund acquisitions.
“There’s very little money to do this kind of work,” said Smith. “There’s just not that many opportunities without that help.”
A receiving property may have significance in more than one area, such as a battlefield with a recorded archaeological site within its boundaries, which will be taken into consideration in scoring applications.
In addition, the property must have been previously recognized as significant. It must be individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places, listed in the 1993 Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefields, or identified as nationally significant in a National Park Service Special Resource Study.
The grantee sites for this year are as follows:
Howell Tract, Prentiss County, American Battlefield Trust - $375,000
This tract is within the Core and Study Areas of the Brice’s Crossroads battlefield.
Pendleton Tract, Hinds County, American Battlefield Trust - $539,000
This tract is within the Core Area of the Champion Hill battlefield. It consists of six continuous tracts, the loss of which could endanger the access to the proposed Champion Hill unit of Vicksburg National Military Park.
Harmon Tract, Alcorn County, American Battlefield Trust - $110,000
This tract is within the Core and Study Areas of the Corinth battlefield. It is almost entirely unimproved and features extant Civil War earthworks. The property is within the legislative boundaries of Shiloh National Military Park, and the National Park Service is actively pursuing its acquisition.
Buford Tract, Warren County, American Battlefield Trust – $50,000
This tract is within the Core Area of the Chickasaw Bayou battlefield and is threatened by development in Vicksburg. The property will be subject to a day-of restoration and transferred to the Friends of Vicksburg. Chickasaw Bayou is currently one of the least protected of Mississippi’s battlefields.
Jones Tract, Warren County, American Battlefield Trust - $30,000
This tract is within the Core Area of the Chickasaw Bayou battlefield.
Shiers Tract, Warren County, American Battlefield Trust - $67,500
This tract is within the Core Area of the Chickasaw Bayou battlefield. The property is in danger of being sold to commercial interests for reuse.
Wilson Tract, Warren County, American Battlefield Trust - $52,500
This tract is within the Core Area of the Chickasaw Bayou battlefield.
