Flagler College was today awarded a $5,000 grant by the National Trust for Historic Preservation from the Florida Fund and the Daniel K. Thorne Intervention Fund. These grant funds will be used to support two projects that benefit St. Augustine, Florida, a session at the Keeping History Above Water™ conference, hosted in St. Augustine from May 5-8, 2019 and a pre-conference workshop to be held on January 31, 2019 in St. Augustine to address cultural resources hazard mitigation planning and assess community values.
Flagler College, together with principal partners the University of Florida, the City of St. Augustine, and the Newport Restoration Foundation, is hosting the international Keeping History Above Water™ conference from May 5-8, 2019 in St. Augustine. The Casa Monica Resort & Spa, a Historic Hotels of America partner, is the conference headquarters hotel. Experts in urban planning, economic development, finance, communication, national security, technology, historic preservation, cultural heritage, and climate science will participate.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation joins these partners and others including the National Park Service, Union of Concerned Scientists, Michael Baker International, Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, Florida Public Archaeology Network, Florida Climate Institute, Lightner Museum, St. Johns County Tourist Development Council, St. Johns County Visitor and Convention Bureau, St. Johns Cultural Council, and Historic Tours of America.
The conference will emphasize St. Augustine and Florida, while addressing communities throughout the world. St. Augustine includes the oldest continuous European settlement in the US; the Castillo de San Marcos – the nation’s only 17th century fortification; 14,000 years of archaeological history; thousands of historic properties; and the Hotel Ponce de Leon National Historic Landmark (Flagler College). The city is one of the most desirable US cities in which to live and visit, yet sea level rise and hurricanes have threatened it and all of Florida.
“Organizations like Flagler College help to ensure that communities and towns all across America retain their unique sense of place,” said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “We are honored to provide a grant to Flagler College, which will use the funds to help preserve an important piece of our shared national heritage.”
Grants from the National Trust Preservation Funds range from $2,500 to $5,000 and have provided over $15 million since 2003. These matching grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations and public agencies across the country to support wide-ranging activities including consultant services for rehabilitating buildings, technical assistance for tourism that promotes historic resources, and the development of materials for education and outreach campaigns.
For more information on National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Fund grants, click here.
About Flagler College
Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Flagler College is a private, nationally-ranked college located in St. Augustine, Fla. The college offers 33 majors, 39 minors, and a master’s degree in Education of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing. Flagler College has an enrollment of about 2,500 students, as well as a satellite campus in Tallahassee, Fla. U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review regularly feature Flagler as a college that offers quality education at a relatively low cost. A Flagler education is less than half the cost of similar private colleges, and competitive with many state universities. A relatively young institution (founded in 1968), Flagler College is also noted for its historic beauty. The centerpiece of the campus is the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, a National Historic Landmark opened in 1888 by railroad pioneer and Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler. For more on Flagler College, visit flagler.edu.
About the National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately-funded nonprofit organization that works to save America’s historic places to enrich our future. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is committed to protecting America’s rich cultural legacy and helping build vibrant, sustainable communities that reflect our nation’s diversity. Follow us on Twitter @savingplaces.
About the City of St. Augustine
St. Augustine was founded on September 8, 1565 as a Spanish military garrison and colonial town. The city has the distinction of being the longest continuously inhabited European-founded city in the 50 United States.
As a low lying city, St. Augustine’s recent experiences with extensive and devastating flooding from Hurricane Matthew in October 2016 and Hurricane Irma in September 2017, and the growing threat of nuisance or “sunny day” flooding raised the community’s awareness of its vulnerability that is exacerbated by the effects of sea-level rise. A 2016 study indicates that an additional 500 acres of land are vulnerable to this nuisance flooding with one foot of sea level rise. The city’s elected leaders encouraged and initiated extensive discussions within the city and with neighboring jurisdictions to share resources that address these common issues. Additionally, the City has stepped up and joined with other organizations seeking innovative and effective ways to build resilient cities for tomorrow. St. Augustine is committed to preserving the quality of life for its residents while recognizing the significance of its historic landscape and dependence on historic resources within a tourism-based economy.
About the University of Florida
The University of Florida’s mission is to prepare our students to lead and influence the next generation and beyond for economic, cultural and societal benefit. Recognized as among the top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report, UF is one of the nation’s largest public universities, and is the only member of the Association of American Universities in Florida. Teaching, research and scholarship, and service span all of the UF’s academic disciplines and represent its commitment to be a premier university that the state, nation and world look to for leadership.
About the Newport Restoration Foundation
Keeping History Above Water™ is an initiative of the Newport Restoration Foundation started in April 2016 to address the challenges posed to historic buildings and neighborhoods by sea level rise and increasing coastal storm activity. The initial conference emphasized practical approaches to protecting historic built environments in both the near and long term, at individual building, infrastructure, and policy levels. Newport Restoration Foundation has an ongoing interest in advancing knowledge related to sea level rise, not just in Newport, but in other historic coastal communities across the country. It is NRF’s intent to continue Keeping History Above Water™ to advance public understanding, expand the conversation nationally and globally, and develop solutions to the problems climate change imposes on cultural heritage resources. For more information on Keeping History Above Water™, visit historyabovewater.org. For more information about the Newport Restoration Foundation, visit NewportRestoration.org.
