$1.1 million in grants going towards preserving BIPOC history in Central Virginia
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Seven projects centering Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) history in Virginia are receiving a combined $2.5 million in grant funding, including two projects in Central Virginia.
On Wednesday, Oct. 8, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) and the Virginia Board of Historic Resources (VBHR) announced how funding from the Virginia Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Historic Preservation Grant Program would be disbursed.
This grant program was established in 2022 by the Virginia General Assembly to help preserve BIPOC history. More specifically, it aims to "protect and support the Commonwealth’s historically underserved and underrepresented communities as well as the cultural and historical sites associated with them," the DHR said in a press release.
DHR's recommendations on which projects to fund, which were the result of a multi-step review process, were submitted on Sept. 18. They included $2.5 million for seven total projects. Among them are two in Central Virginia -- one in King William County and one in Fluvanna County.
The King William project, named the "Mattaponi Indian Tribe Cultural and Historical Resource Revitalization Project," received the largest individual grant award of nearly $1 million.
Carytown’s neon sign coming down to fix lighting issues
The Fluvanna project, the "Historic Free Hill Cemetery Archaeological Study," received $110,490 in grant funding.
The other five projects are out of James City, Accomack, Southampton and Bath counties, as well as the city of Fredericksburg.
DHR staff will carry out initial site visits and meetings with grant recipients in the coming months.
Those who applied for this funding but were not selected are invited to reapply for the next round of funding. Applications for that round will open in February 2026.
For more information about the Virginia Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Historic Preservation Grant Program, click here or send an email to the DHR Grants Coordinator Caitlin Sylvester at bipocgrantfund@dhr.virginia.gov.
