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
The Edwards Store, Inc. Awarded Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is proud to announce that The Edwards Store, Inc. has been awarded a grant through the Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program.
“Work like this is vital in helping us remember our past,” said Sen. Warren Hamilton, McCurtain. “Without the assistance provided by the Oklahoma Historical Society, parts of OUR history and OUR story will be lost forever. There’s too much that’s too important to let that happen.”
“I have visited the Edwards Store, and it is a historically important part of the Butterfield Trail,” said Rep. Jim Grego, Wilburton. “I am so glad the Historical Society realizes the importance of this project and is preserving the building.”
The Edwards Store, Inc. received $16,000 for a project titled “Archaeological Field Work/Final Preliminary Steps,” which will help fund archaeological fieldwork at The Edwards Store. Historians and historic architects will contribute to fieldwork documentation and analysis. Work will include precision mapping, near-surface geophysical surveying, cemetery documentation, initial archaeological testing, oral history interviewing and finds reporting.
“With this grant from the Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program, we will complete preliminary log cabin work and archaeological fieldwork at the Edwards-Hardaway Homestead historic site,” said Chrissy Gray Dickmeyer, executive director of The Edwards Store, Inc. “On behalf of The Edwards Store, Inc. and the Hardaway Family, I thank OHS and each individual Oklahoman participating in this monumental project. This project was a dream of our late father, Roy Jeffery Gray. With his guidance, the work of The Edwards Store, Inc., and the support of the Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program, my brother Brian Gray and I are turning our father’s dream into reality.”
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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