Seed money for history
Franklin Farm to benefit from state preservation grant
Franklin Farms gets state preser
vation grant
CUMBERLAND — The town and the Historic Metcalf Family Farm Preservation Association will be getting some help in maintaining a circa 1857 farmhouse at the town-owned open space property at 142 Abbott Run Valley Road thanks to a justannounced list of state Cultural Facilities and state Preservation grant awards.
The Blackstone River Theatre at 549 Broad St. is also on the list of grant awards for capital improvements along with a number of other cultural arts organizations and historic properties in the northern Rhode Island area.
Mayor William Murray said this week the two Cumberland awards on the list will help complete needed maintenance projects at the farmhouse and the circa 1928 theater, a former Masonic Lodge owned by the town and leased to the organization for its music, arts and community programs.
“This will be earmarked for improving the exterior of the building and preserving it and then we will be looking for additional money as we move along,” Murray said while noting future plans for the farm include improvements to its heating and plumbing system and providing handicapped access to the building. The town helped the farm win its grant with matching assistance to its programs, according to Murray.
The farmhouse is located on a 65-acre parcel of open space that includes a garage building and a barn that was constructed in several phases with one portion dating back to early 1800s. The farm was the last working dairy farm in the community and preserved by the town with the help of state open space grant funding.
Today the farm is used by Metcalf Family Farm Preservation Association volunteers to run a community garden benefitting the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and related programs while serving as an agricultural classroom for local school children.
Pam Thurlow, vice president of the Metcalf Family Farm Preservation Association, said the new state grant funding will be used to repair the farmhouse building that remains largely in the same condition is when it was acquired the by town. The long range improvement plans for the property also include electrical and plumbing work as well as the installation of a new heating system and Americans with Disabilities Act access improvements, Thurlow said.
“We are not sure where we are going to start and what comes first but we will consult a historic architect for a recommendation on what comes first,” she said. “It could go to whatever the greatest need is,” she added.
The improvements eventually could help the Association expand its use of the farmhouse and add to the educational programs now in place at Franklin Farm.
In the summer months, the farm currently hosts a day camp program for local school children offering instruction on how to plant crops and tours of the barn that was also repaired with the help of prior grant funding.
The Community Garden program has made Franklin Farm one of the largest suppliers of fresh produce to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and is operated entirely by volunteers and student participants.
“We distribute produce through the R.I. Community Food Bank and six or seven other food pantry and soup kitchen programs,” Thurlow said.
Murray said the town has supported the Blackstone River Theatre with an annual contribution of $10,000 in funding. The result of the organization’s lease of the property has been the development of a Cultural Arts program that is “an arts gem for the Blackstone Valley,” Murray said.
“They draw a quite a few people to their events,” Murray said of the popular music and arts programs at the former Masonic Lodge.
Given the age of the building, Russell Guisetti, the theater’s executive director, said much of the grant funding will go to replacing deteriorating windows throughout the building and also help with the replacement of window treatments on the interior.
Guisetti said the theater was able to secure a matching grant contribution of $97,000 from the Champlin Foundation to make the state award possible.
“We are ecstatic about this award,” Guisetti said. “This is without a doubt the largest capital improvement grant we have ever received,” he said.
The sum of funding will also help the group in securing additional support for improvements in the future, he noted.
“We had a building and grounds meeting and we were already making our plans for the next phase while we getting ready to begin this work,” he said.
The theater is already booked for its current space throughout the week and future plans to open up a second level of space upstairs would provide the opportunity to expand bookings for community programs and arts events, he noted.
That would require the addition of a heating and air conditioning unit for that level of the building and there is also a need for electrical, plumbing and other improvements down the road, he noted.
The funding awarded by the state Cultural Arts and Historical Preservation agencies is part of the Creative and Cultural Economy Bond approved by voters in 2014 that includes $6.5 million for the projects like Franklin Farm, Blackstone River Theatre, a $20,000 grant to the Museum of Work and Culture in Woonsocket, $50,000 for the Slater Mill in Pawtucket, $150,000 for improvements to the historic Central Falls City Hall, and $28,000 for the East Providence Historical Society Education Center and another $250,000 to the R.I. Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School in East Providence just in this area.
The approved bond issue also includes another $22 million for capital improvements at nine specific Rhode Island arts organizations such as the Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket and Waterfire in Providence.
A full listing of the awards can be found at www.preservation.ri.gov.