AMHERST — An infusion of $200,000 from the state’s Cultural Facilities Fund will help create a display room for the historic Civil War tablets and renovate the Woodbury Room, both at the Jones Library, while another $97,000 from the same fund will support repairs to the foundation and roof at the neighboring Simeon Strong House.
The library announced the funding last week as part of its ongoing $15.8 million capital campaign.
The 43 Amity St. library, which is undergoing a $46.1 million renovation and expansion, will be the home of the Civil War plaques exhibit next year. Given to the town in
1893, they are inscribed with the names of the more than 300 residents of Amherst who fought in the Civil War, including 21 Black members of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry.
The Woodbury Room is a 200-seat space that can be used for meetings and presentations, including after normal library hours.
“The Woodbury Room and the Civil War Tablets Room are vital components to our
community, helping us to connect with each other and our history,” Library Director Sharon Sharry said in a statement. “These spaces will help to enrich the cultural vitality of Amherst for decades to come.”
Like the library, the Amherst Historical Society announced receiving the money that comes from a collaboration between the Massachusetts Cultural Council and MassDevelopment. The $97,000 will pay to rebuild the north wall, create an accessible entry path and complete structural repairs to the roof and floors at the more than 270-year-old building.
“This grant from the Cultural Facilities Fund of the Massachusetts Cultural Council is a welcome supplement to funding from the town for this critically important step in maintaining the Simeon Strong House for the future and to making it accessible to all visitors,” Amherst Historical Society President Gigi Barnhill said in a statement.
The building has been closed to the public since November 2024 because of accessibility and structural issues. It is also located next to the Jones Library, where a $46.1 million renovation and addition project has been underway since last June and is supposed to be complete next spring.
In place of the Strong House on a temporary basis, the society opened the Amherst History Center at 45 Boltwood Walk last summer, where exhibits are shown and where its offices are located.
Previously, the society was awarded funding through the same fund, as well as the town’s Community Preservation Act, to cover the costs of an existing structural conditions report and an accessibility assessment plan. The institution has also received another $275,148 in CPA money that will be available as of July 1 for stabilizing and preserving the building.
Projects in other communities
Statewide, there were 97 recipients, receiving a combined $8.68 million, from the Cultural Facilities Fund, with the first disseminated on May 15.
In Amherst, another recipient was the National Yiddish Book Center, getting $100,000 for safety systems upgrades and a new restroom.
In Northampton, $87,500 is going to the David Ruggles Center for the final design, architectural renovations and fabrication of new exhibits at its Florence site.
The Friends of the North Leverett Sawmill are receiving $186,000 to support adding a well, septic system and bathrooms at the North Leverett center site. The town’s Board of Health is beginning a review of the proposed onsite sewage disposal system on June 1.
At Clapp Memortial Library in Belchertown, $130,000 will go toward window replacements, while in Easthampton, $35,000 is going to CitySpace for architectural plans to create a 350-seat theater in the second floor of the historic Old Town Hall, and in Hadley $24,600 is going to the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum and Foundation for renovations and repairs to rental units and museum storage space.
Snow Farm: The New England Craft Program in Williamsburg is receiving $101,200 for bathroom renovations and $120,000 is being provided to the Worthington Historical Society for improvements to the facility’s HVAC system, insulation, restrooms, basement and accessibility.
Fionally, the Earthdance Creative Living Project in Plainfield is earning $86,900 to support the construction of three duplex cabins to provide accommodations for visiting teachers, artists and students.
