In October we were informed that Murray County in conjunction with the Murray County Historical Society had been awarded a large Minnesota Historical & Cultural Heritage grant from the Minnesota Historical Society for work on the Dinehart Holt House. Along with that wonderful news, our friends at End-o-Line Railroad Park and Museum were also awarded a large grant for work on their historic manual turntable! We are so excited to continue work on these unique structures! Below is the full press release with more details on the two grants:
Press Release – December 1, 2020:
Murray County, in conjunction with the Murray County Historical Society, is pleased to announce the receipt of two large Legacy grants for structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The first grant, in the amount of $114,766 is for repairs on the Dinehart Holt House in Slayton. These funds will provide for repair and repointing of the home’s basement walls and the base of the chimney, and the reconstruction of the outside basement entry and doors. It will also pay for complete scraping, repair, and repainting to the exterior of the home.
The County is also pleased to announce a second large grant for the historic manual turntable at End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum in Currie. This grant in the amount of $23,700 will go toward hiring a historic architect and surveyor to develop supporting construction documents. The documents will be used for future construction work on the turntable that will help preserve the 120-year-old structure. These projects have been financed in part with funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.
Murray County Museums Coordinator, Janet Timmerman, says, “The Dinehart Holt House grant is the culmination of three years of work and previous grant projects. In 2017, the Murray County Historical Society, with the agreement of Murray County, wrote and received a Legacy grant that provided funds for a complete Historic Structure Report. That report, created by LHB Inc., assessed the structural needs of the house. Blue Planet Historical Researchers provided us a more comprehensive history of the home and Dinehart and Holt families than we had before. Based on the findings of that report the Murray County Historical Society wrote and received a second grant to have architectural drawings and estimates created by LHB, Inc. in 2019. Those drawings and estimates were used to develop this third grant that was submitted by the county as the owner of the structure. So, you can see, we worked very hard to get to this point.”
Timmerman added, “It seems like a complex process, but this assures that the project will be done correctly and in accordance with the State Historic Preservation Office guidelines for buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places. The Dinehart Holt House is one of sixteen structures in the county on the National Register, ten of which are located in Shetek State Park. This is the only family home. We want to see it preserved for future generations to enjoy.”
Jakob Etrheim, the Site Coordinator of End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum commented on the receipt of the grant for the turntable. “This is the second grant I have submitted for the turntable project. The first grant paid for a Conditions Assessment Report and this one will help us develop the engineering for repairs and a new drainage system for the turntable. It has seen a lot of flooding in the past few years, with water to the top of the pit several times. That takes a toll on the dry stacked side walls and the turntable mechanism. By having a set of engineered plans, we can then submit a repair grant to do the work next year. The year 2022 is End-O-Line Park’s 50th Anniversary and we want the park to reflect the hard work and dedication that so many people have given through the decades. We are incredibly fortunate that the turntable is still functional after 120+ years of turning locomotives and field trip children. But it is in great need of work and these grants will help preserve the iconic structure for the next century.”
These grants are received gratefully for the people of Murray County. In 2008, Minnesota’s voters passed the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment (Legacy Amendment) to the Minnesota Constitution that increased the state sales tax by three-eighths of one percent. The Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund receives 19.75 percent of that sales tax revenue resulting from the Legacy amendment to support arts, arts education and arts access, and to preserve Minnesota’s history and cultural heritage. For more information on these and other Murray County Historical Society projects contact Janet Timmerman at 507-836-6533 or email jtimmerman@co.murray.mn.us.