WARREN COUNTY, NJ – The Warren County Board of County Commissioners traveled throughout the county on Friday, April 11 to present ceremonial checks to the recipients of this year’s Municipal and Charitable Conservancy Trust Fund grants.
Three historic building restoration projects received grant funding which totaled $324,000. Funding for the three projects was approved by the Commissioners, acting on the recommendations of the 12-member Municipal and Charitable Conservancy Trust Fund Committee. The grants are financed through the County’s Open Space Trust, which is funded by a voter-approved dedicated tax.
Commissioner Director Jason J. Sarnoski, along with County Commissioners Lori Ciesla and James R. Kern III, visited the three locations to present the checks, meet with the local officials and stakeholders, and tour the sites.
First up was the Hope Township Community Center, originally the site of the Moravian Log Tavern in 1773, the Christian Church was built in 1841. The building now serves as the Hope Community Center, where the town holds plays, events, occasional meetings, and is home to the weekly “Fun Fridays.” The $150,000 the Township of Hope received from the Municipal and Charitable Conservancy Trust Fund will go towards the third phase of the building’s restoration, which will replace both the floor and ceiling of the main room, install new lights, and fund repairs to the exterior steps.
The Commissioners then headed to Washington Township, to see the “First exclusive Autogiro Airport in America.” Invented by Spanish engineer Juan de la Cierva in 1923, the autogiro was the predecessor of the modern day helicopter, it used an airplane fuselage with a forward-mounted propeller and engine, an un-powered rotor mounted on a mast, and a horizontal and vertical stabilizer. Eckel’s Autogiro airport was built in 1931 and it was the first exclusive Autogiro airport in the U.S. Washington Township received $57,000 to perform needed maintenance and repairs to the two wooden hangars that once stored the aircrafts.
Finally, the Commissioners visited Shimer Mansion in Pohatcong Township. Built in 1850, the Shimer Mansion was the centerpiece of a 120-acre rural estate about a half-mile east of Morris Canal Lock 10 in the Green’s Bridge section of Phillipsburg. The Pohatcong History and Heritage Society took ownership in 2015 and has been working to restore the property. The History and Heritage Society received $117,000 for stage two of this restoration project. The group’s end goal is to turn the property into a community center and gallery for local artists.
