Heritage Grants To Benefit Danvers, Marblehead, Salem, Swampscott

DANVERS, MA — The Rebecca Nurse Homestead Museum in Danvers, Fort Sewall in Marblehead, Swampscott Town Hall and "Charlotte's Salem" are among the beneficiaries of this year's Essex National Heritage Commission grants.

Over the next year, the 12 grant recipients will be working to implement a diverse range of educational, interpretive, inclusionary, and preservation projects throughout the North Shore and the Merrimack Valley.

"We recognize the importance of supporting local organizations and we are proud that we are able to award 12 partnership grants again this year," the Commission said. "Over the life of the program we have provided grants to every community in Essex County — and we know that this seed money greatly impacts the region by leveraging more investments in the Essex National Heritage Area."

The Danvers Alarm List Company, Inc. was awarded a grant to repair the wooden roof and part of the wooden siding of the 1681 Endicott Barn at the Rebecca Nurse Homestead.

The Fort Sewall Oversight Committee and the town of Marblehead were awarded a grant to build displays for the town's 378-year-old coastal earthwork fort.

History Alive, Inc. was awarded its grant to expand "Charlotte's Salem" — a program that moves through 1850s Salem with abolitionist Charlotte Forten, the first African-American graduate of Salem State and the first African-American Salem school teacher. This portable adaptation brings "Charlotte's Salem" to audiences with ambulatory challenges and economic barriers.

The town of Swampscott will use its grant to enhance the exhibits in Town Hall, highlighting the town's 170-year history through displays, videos, presentations and tours.

The Ipswich River Watershed Association will also offer a series of place-based outdoor education programs for the Salem Recreation, giving Salem youth the chance to get outside multiple times this summer and benefit from nature-based enrichment programming.

Essex Heritage is the non-profit organization that manages the Essex National Heritage Area by developing programs that enhance, preserve, and encourage recreation, education, conservation and interpretation projects on the North Shore and the Lower Merrimack River Valley.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)