February 2, 2018
DANVILLE – Preservation Virginia and JTI Leaf Services are pleased to announce that the Tobacco Barns Mini-Grants Project will be held for a fifth year in 2018. Funded by a grant from JTI Leaf Services, the Mini-Grants Project was formed in 2014 to provide small grants to help stabilize and repair tobacco barns in a three-county region: Caswell County, North Carolina and Halifax and Pittsylvania Counties in Virginia. The 2018 grant cycle applications are due April 2, 2018.
2018 Grant Cycle
The 2018 grant cycle will be slightly different from previous years. The 2018 grant cycle will involve the repair of new barns and the completion of all remaining barns from previous years. We will also be working on a book about the barns since the project’s inception in 2014. The book will feature historical information on the barns and information about the repairs made to the barns. It will also contain anecdotes about the farmers and barn owners and the rural communities where the barns are located.
Applications
For the 2018 grant cycle, in order to be eligible to receive a mini-grant, the barn must be located within the 3county region and it must be in need of repairs, but also in good enough condition that the repairs can be done in a quality manner within a cap of $5,000 per barn. All of the barns submitted will be evaluated for their integrity, historical significance, public benefits, stewardship shown by the owners and the geographic distribution throughout the three-county region. Barn owners who submitted applications in 2014, 2015, 2016 or 2017 and wish to reapply for 2018, must submit a 2018 application; however, images and/or historical information submitted previously do not have to be resubmitted.
Applications can be obtained from Preservation Virginia’s website or by contacting Sonja Ingram at singram@preservationvirginia.org or 434-770-1209, or the following locations:
The Richmond-Miles History Museum
15 Main St
Yanceyville, NC 37379
12-4, Wed – Fri
Historic Caswell County Courthouse
144 Court Square
Yanceyville, NC
9-5, Mon-Fri
Pittsylvania County History Research Center and Library (Train Depot)
340 Whitehead Street
Chatham, VA
9-5, Tue-Sat and 1-5, Sunday
Halifax County Visitor’s Center 1180 Bill Tuck Highway
South Boston, VA
9-5, Mon–Sat and 1-5, Sun
Future of the Project
The Mini-Grants Project has merited regional and national accolades including a Virginia Association of Counties Achievement Award and a Leadership in History Award from the American Association for State and Local History. The program was also listed as Number 33 in Garden and Gun Magazine‘s “50 Reasons We Love the South Now” in 2015.
At the conclusion of 2018 grant cycle, the Mini-Grants Project will have repaired over 60 tobacco barns in the Southside region. All of the barns repaired represent unique resources that afford some type of public benefit and help to grow a local identity and distinctiveness by connecting residents to their past. Each year the project also facilitates the creation of at least 10 jobs. The project also has the potential to be a powerful economic engine by means of heritage tourism − one of the strongest industries in Virginia which brings in over 20 billion dollars annually and supports over 200,000 jobs in the state each year.
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About JTI Leaf Services
JTI Leaf Services in Danville, Virginia, was established in 2010 to procure and process leaf tobacco from the United States. JTI Leaf Services supplies JTI exclusively with directly contracted U.S. leaf tobacco- renowned globally for its high quality and rich flavor. The Company has established itself as an industry leader in processing at its state-of-the-art facility. JTI Leaf Services currently employs over 50 full-time workers in Danville and hires more than 250 seasonal employees for tobacco processing each year.
About Preservation Virginia
Preservation Virginia is a private, non-profit organization and statewide historic preservation leader founded in 1889 that is dedicated to preserving, promoting and serving as an advocate for Virginia's cultural and architectural history.
Press Contact
Sonja Ingram
singram@preservationvirginia.org
434-770-1209
