The stained-glass windows on the south side of the Jeudevine Memorial Library will be restored with a grant from the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.
HARDWICK — The stained glass windows in the Jeudevine Memorial Library will shine anew, thanks to a state grant awarded last week.
The project award was announced by Gov. Phil Scott as part of grants from the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the Vermont Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The Jeudevine stained glass project was among 20 grant recipients announced for municipalities and non-profit organizations.
“The stained-glass windows on the south side of the building have been buckling inward and in need of restoration for many years,” said Jodi Lew-Smith, chair of the Jeudevine Board of Trustees. “We are grateful to have received this award in time to preserve these gorgeous windows for future generations.”
The governor touted the awards as not only benefiting historic places in Vermont but also as a boost for local economies. He said the grants, totaling $321,363, will leverage more than $1 million in restoration and rehabilitation efforts, supporting about 40 preservation construction jobs.
“Investing in the preservation of Vermont’s history strengthens our communities and the character of our state,” Scott said in a prepared statement. “Just as importantly, we are putting people to work restoring our past and creating new opportunities for the next generation of Vermonters.”
The Division for Historic Preservation administers the state-funded, one-to-one matching grants. They are up to $20,000 for the rehabilitation of civic and community resources in Vermont’s downtowns, villages, and rural communities.
Lew-Smith said the Jeudevine stained glass restoration work will be part of this summer’s larger construction project. That work will expand the library to have youth reading rooms and community space.
Among the 20 projects receiving funding this year, other than the Jeudevine library stained glass restoration, are the Sanborn Covered Bridge in Lyndonville, plaster repairs at the U.S. Post Office and Customs House in Richford, the exterior Beaux-Art style of the original 1904 Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, and the Fort Ethan Allen Water Tower in Essex.
In order to qualify, the resource must be at least 50 years of age and listed in, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places. Since the creation of the Historic Preservation Grants in 1986, more than 600 projects on historic buildings, structures, and sites owned by municipalities and non-profits have received $6.08 million, leveraging five times as much in non-state funds for these projects.
For more information about the Jeudevine stained glass restoration project, call (802) 472-5948 or email [email protected].
