Special to the WJH
ATLANTA — Southern Forest World was named one of 13 Georgia private nonprofit organizations receiving grants for maintenance of their historic sites.
The Wednesday, May 28 announcement was by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation through the 1772 Foundation. The matching grant funding total was $120,000 and ranged in amounts from $5,000 to the grant maximum of $10,000, which 11 organizations received.
Southern Forest World’s grant was for the historic fire tower.
Grants were provided for exterior work — painting; surface restoration; fire detection/security systems; repairs to/restoration of chimneys, porches, roof, and windows; repairs to foundations and sills; and masonry repointing.
Georgia Trust staff reviewed the grant applications and selected projects based on criteria including organizational capacity, realistic budget, community support and immediacy of need. The Georgia Trust will manage the grants.
“These grants reflect the Georgia Trust’s unwavering commitment to preserving the historic places that define our communities and tell Georgia’s diverse stories,” said W. Wright Mitchell, President and CEO of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. “We’re deeply grateful to our generous partners — Barbara and Les Callahan, and The 1772 Foundation — whose support makes this important preservation work possible across the state.”
The Callahan Incentive Grant is made possible by generous funding from Barbara and Les Callahan, longtime supporters of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, to provide matching funding for historic preservation projects in the state of Georgia.
Other 2025 grant recipients were Andrew Low House Museum (Savannah), The Arts Council (First Methodist Episcopal Church, Gainesville), Cobb Landmarks (William Root House, Marietta), Courthouse Square Development Inc. (Robinson-Glass House, Blakely), Enhancing Low Income Communities – ELICE, Inc. (East Park Cemetery, Vidalia), Friends of Historic Woolsey (Historic Woolsey Church, Woolsey), Georgia Writers Museum (Eatonton), Historic Augusta Incorporated (Woodrow Wilson House carriage barn, Augusta), Historic Macon Foundation (Historic District College Street house, Macon), Pebble Hill Foundation (Pebble Hill Plantation Fire House Complex, Thomasville), Pope’s Museum (Ochlocknee), and Friends of The Strand, Inc. (Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre, Marietta).
