Press Release
March 28, 2023
Contact: Nicole Harvey
Director of Strategic Initiatives, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-522-5202
nicole.harvey@history.ok.gov
www.okhistory.org/grants
Preservation Oklahoma, Inc. Awarded Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is proud to announce that Preservation Oklahoma, Inc. has been awarded a grant through the Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program.
Preservation Oklahoma, Inc. received $9,900 for a project titled “Teaching/Heritage Garden at the Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion,” which will add a vegetable garden to the grounds of the Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion. The home historically kept a kitchen garden on the property, as did many early homes in the city, regardless of the home’s size or the family’s wealth. Once completed, Preservation Oklahoma, Inc. will host events that invite the public to work in the garden on weekends and feature programming to interpret the garden.
“These grant funds for Preservation Oklahoma, Inc., will allow a wonderful opportunity to create community and educational engagement,” said Sen. Kay Floyd, Oklahoma City. “I look forward to seeing the garden once it has been completed.”
“One of our goals as managers of the Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion is to bring living history to the home and grounds,” said Chantry Banks, executive director of Preservation Oklahoma, Inc. “The Overholsers did keep a vegetable garden on the grounds of the mansion, and we look forward to recreating what a 1903 urban garden would like. We thank the Oklahoma Historical Society for providing this grant, which will help usher in a new era of projects at the Overholser.”
The OHS will distribute over $575,000 in grant funds, with projects ranging from collections care and strategic planning to exhibit development and educational programming.
“These grant funds continue to empower local communities to collect, preserve and share their history for future generations of Oklahomans with over 150 projects funded to date,” said Nicole Harvey, director of strategic initiatives and grants administrator for the OHS.
The Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program is a grants-in-aid program offered by the Oklahoma Historical Society to encourage the collection, preservation and sharing of Oklahoma history at the grassroots level in all parts of the state. Open to tribal and municipal governments and not-for-profit historical organizations located in Oklahoma and registered with the Oklahoma secretary of state, this grants program offers funding ranging from $1,000 to $20,000 for projects focused on collections, exhibits and programming. Applications for this annual program open in the fall and award announcements are made in January. For more information visit www.okhistory.org/grants.
The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit okhistory.org.
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