New Jersey Historic Trust Announces Preserve New Jersey Preservation Grant Award Recommendations

• Posted on: 09/25/2025

More Than $13 Million in Awards Recommended for Preservation Planning, Heritage Tourism, and Capital Projects 

TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Historic Trust, an affiliate of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), today approved a total of $13,839,484 in grant recommendations from the Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund to save and promote historic sites throughout the state. Sixty-seven preservation planning, municipal, county, and regional planning, heritage tourism, and capital projects are included in this year’s list of recommendations.

“New Jersey has made a significant impact in our nation’s history. This impact is visible in our state’s incredible array of historic sites spanning nearly three centuries where residents and tourists alike can learn about and appreciate New Jersey’s unique heritage,” said DCA Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suárez. “The grant recommendations made today by the New Jersey Historic Trust will help these special sites continue to captivate and inspire visitors for years to come. Our state’s historic places are worth protecting and we’re proud to be a part of the preservation effort.”

Of the 67 grant award recommendations, 30 will help fund a variety of preservation planning projects such as condition assessments, preservation plans, archaeological investigations, and construction documents; three will help fund intensive-level architectural surveys, a historic preservation element for a master plan and a county-wide preservation plan for cemeteries; three will help fund heritage tourism initiatives to improve the visitor experience at historic sites; and 31 will fund capital preservation projects on sites listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places. All grants awarded are to nonprofit organizations or entities of municipal, county and state governments and require a match from the recipient. Included in the list of recommendations is $1,500,000 for the next phase of funding for two previously awarded multi-year projects.

“The New Jersey Historic Trust, through the Preserve New Jersey Fund, is excited to support so many impactful projects,” said New Jersey Historic Trust Executive Director Glenn Ceponis. “These grant awards are helping preserve New Jersey’s historical legacy. Each funded project will benefit not only the individual historic site but also its surrounding community.”

Some of the grant award recommendations are for Revolutionary War-era sites such as Old Eagle Tavern in Trenton and Washington Crossing State Park in Hopewell Township. Through its agencies like the New Jersey Historic Trust, partnerships with nonprofit organizations, and federal initiatives, the State has made a commitment to ensuring that many Revolutionary War resources are being preserved in preparation for the nation’s 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The grant recommendations, which have been approved by the New Jersey Historic Trust Board, will be presented to the Garden State Preservation Trust at its next meeting and require a legislative appropriations bill and the Governor’s approval before funds are made available. Funding for the current grant round is dedicated from a voter-approved constitutional amendment that created the Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund. The Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund continues the work of the Garden State Historic Preservation Trust Fund and voter-supported referendums that have committed over $200 million to more than 1,000 historic preservation projects since 1990. All funded resources are listed or certified eligible in the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places, either individually or within designated historic districts.

Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund Grant Recommendations

Historic Site Management (up to $75,000)

Applicant	Project Name	Municipality	County	Recommended Award
The Friends of The Hermitage	The Hermitage (Waldwic Cottage)	Ho-Ho-Kus Borough	Bergen	$75,000
Borough of Oradell	Oradell Railroad Station	Oradell Borough	Bergen	$49,012
Roebling Main Gate Museum [DBA: Roebling Museum]	101 Second Avenue (Roebling Historic District)	Roebling (Florence Township)	Burlington	$19,500
Whitesbog Preservation Trust, Inc.	Whitesbog Historic District	Pemberton Township (Brown Mills)	Burlington	$21,712
Township of Willingboro	City Federal Savings and Loan Space Bank Futuro	Willingboro Township	Burlington	$39,465
Saving Historic Moorestown	Thomas Cowperthwaite House	Moorestown Township	Burlington	$57,188
Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities	Emlen Physick Estate (Cape May Historic District)	Cape May City	Cape May	$65,347
East Lynne Theater Company	Allen AME Church (Cape May Historic District)	Cape May City	Cape May	$39,863
Van Riper House, Inc.	Van Riper House	Nutley Township	Essex	$37,980
Friends of the Howe House	369 Claremont Avenue (Mountain Historic District)	Montclair Township	Essex	$37,875
Township of Montclair	647 Bloomfield Avenue (Montclair Central Business Historic District)	Montclair Township	Essex	$46,875
Mount Pleasant Cemetery	Mount Pleasant Cemetery	Newark City	Essex	$74,994
Bloomfield Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs Department	Collins House	Bloomfield Township	Essex	$45,000
Hunterdon Art Museum	Dunham's Mill / Parry's Mill (Clinton Historic District)	Clinton Town	Hunterdon	$54,701
Tewksbury Land Trust	Hollow Brook Preserve Bridge	Tewksbury Township	Hunterdon	$13,073
Township of Hamilton	Isaac Pearson House	Hamilton Township	Mercer	$44,983
League of Women Voters of New Jersey Education Fund	204 W State Street (State House Historic District Boundary Increase)	Trenton City	Mercer	$44,932
Township of Holmdel	Horn Antenna	Holmdel Township	Monmouth	$74,930
Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms	Craftsman Farms	Morris Plains (Parsippany-Troy Hills Township)	Morris	$75,000
Orchard Street Gatehouse Historical Association	Orchard Street Cemetery Gatehouse	Dover Town	Morris	$13,140
Museum of Early Trades and Crafts	Madison Public Library and the James Building	Madison Borough	Morris	$54,612
Township of Jefferson	George Chamberlain House	Jefferson Township	Morris	$5,380
County of Passaic, Department of Cultural and Historic Affairs	Belle Vista (Lambert Castle)	Paterson City	Passaic	$50,000
NJ State Park Service: Fort Mott State Park	Fort Mott and Finn's Point National Cemetery	Pennsville Township	Salem	$75,000
Franklin Inn-Van Liew Homestead Association, Inc.	Van Liew Farmhouse	Somerset (Franklin Township)	Somerset	$71,897
Township of Warren	Kirch-Ford House	Warren Township	Somerset	$47,512
Bound Brook Borough	402 E High Street (Bound Brook Public Library)	Bound Brook Borough	Somerset	$70,350
Historical Society of Plainfield	Nathaniel Drake House	Plainfield City	Union	$16,725
Help Our Preservation Effort	Crusen House (Hope Historic District)	Hope Township	Warren	$27,897
Help Our Preservation Effort	Cooper House (Hope Historic District)	Hope Township	Warren	$26,847

Municipal, County, and Regional Planning (up to $75,000)

Applicant	Project Name	Municipality	County	Recommended Award
Borough of West Cape May	West Cape May Historic District	West Cape May Borough	Cape May	$36,000
Township of Belleville	Reformed Dutch Church of the Second River	Belleville Township	Essex	$26,250
County of Passaic	Dey Mansion	Wayne Township	Passaic	$66,375

Heritage Tourism (up to $75,000)

Applicant	Project Name	Municipality	County	Recommended Award
Millville Army Air Field Museum	Millville Army Air Field Historic District	Millville City	Cumberland	$7,125
EagleVision Productions, Inc.	Washington Crossing State Park	Titusville (Hopewell Township)	Mercer	$25,000
Friends of Passaic County Parks, Inc.	Belle Vista (Lambert Castle)	Paterson City	Passaic	$75,000

Capital Level I ($5,000 - $150,000)

Applicant	Project Name	Municipality	County	Recommended Award
Roebling Main Gate Museum [DBA: Roebling Museum]	101 Second Avenue (Roebling Historic District)	Roebling (Florence Township)	Burlington	$74,887
The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in The State of New Jersey (NSCDA-NJ)	Old Schoolhouse	Mount Holly Township	Burlington	$40,722
Community House of Moorestown	Moorestown Community House	Moorestown Township	Burlington	$49,500
Gloucester Township	Hillman Hospital House (Gabriel Davis Tavern)	Glendora (Gloucester Township)	Camden	$150,000
Millville Army Air Field Museum	Millville Army Air Field Historic District	Millville City	Cumberland	$67,692
Lambertville Historical Society	James Marshall House	Lambertville City	Hunterdon	$42,332
Hunterdon Land Trust	Case-Dvoor Farmstead	Raritan Township	Hunterdon	$30,000
Hamilton Township	Isaac Pearson House	Hamilton Township	Mercer	$34,800
Friends of Millstone Township Historic Registered Properties	Clarksburg Methodist Episcopal Church	Millstone Township	Monmouth	$30,000
Allentown Public Library Association, Inc.	First Baptist Church	Allentown Borough	Monmouth	$50,052
Orchard Street Gatehouse Historical Association	Orchard Street Cemetery Gatehouse	Dover Town	Morris	$150,000
Skylands Association	Skylands	Ringwood Borough	Passaic	$150,000
Peters Valley School of Craft	Hilltop Farm (Peters Valley Historic District)	Layton (Sandyston Township)	Sussex	$21,000
Liberty Hall Museum, Inc.	Liberty Hall (Governor William Livingston House)	Union Township	Union	$89,995

Capital Level II ($150,001 - $750,000)

Applicant	Project Name	Municipality	County	Recommended Award
City of Atlantic City	West Pavilion (Atlantic City Convention Hall)	Atlantic City	Atlantic	$750,000
Camden County Historical Society	Benjamin Cooper Ferry and Tavern	Camden City	Camden	$750,000
The Home Port Alliance for the USS New Jersey Inc	USS New Jersey (BB-62)	Camden City	Camden	$750,000
Camden County	Ebenezer Hopkins House (Cooper River Park Historic District)	Haddon Township	Camden	$334,837
Bayshore Center at Bivalve	A.J. Meerwald Schooner	Port Norris (Commercial Township)	Cumberland	$164,000
Township of Maplewood	Woman's Club of Maplewood (Maplewood Village Historic District)	Maplewood Township	Essex	$702,850
The Montclair Foundation	William D. Van Vleck House (Mountain Historic District)	Montclair Township	Essex	$397,310
Bloomfield Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs Department	Oakes Estate	Bloomfield Township	Essex	$435,660
Township of Weehawken	Hackensack Water Company Complex	Weehawken Township	Hudson	$383,750
Tewksbury Library Association	31 Old Turnpike Road (Oldwick Historic District)	Tewksbury Township	Hunterdon	$430,213
Washington Crossing Park Association, Inc.	Washington Crossing State Park	Titusville (Hopewell Township)	Mercer	$324,459
Mercer County Improvement Authority	Old Eagle Tavern	Trenton City	Mercer	$750,000
City of Perth Amboy	Perth Amboy Public Library	Perth Amboy City	Middlesex	$750,000
Monmouth Boat Club	Monmouth Boat Club	Red Bank Borough	Monmouth	$750,000
Little Falls Historical Society	Municipal Building (Little Falls Old Town Hall)	Little Falls Township	Passaic	$472,885

Capital Level III: Multiphase ($500,000 - $750,000)

Applicant	Project Name	Municipality	County	Recommended Award
Burlington County	Smithville Historic District (Revised Nomination)	Eastampton Township	Burlington	$750,000
County of Passaic	Passaic County Courthouse Annex (Passaic County Court House, and United States Custom House and Post Office Historic District)	Paterson City	Passaic	$750,000

Miscellaneous

Applicant	Project Name	Municipality	County	Recommended Award
Hunterdon Land Trust	Case Dvoor Farmstead	Raritan Township	Hunterdon	$750,000
New Jersey Historic Trust	Emergency Intervention Fund	Trenton City	Mercer	$100,000
County of Passaic	Passaic County Courthouse Annex (Passaic County Court House, and United States Custom House and Post Office Historic District)	Paterson City	Passaic	$750,000

Created by the State Legislature, the New Jersey Historic Trust is a nonprofit historic preservation organization affiliated with the Department of Community Affairs. Governed by a 15-member board of trustees, the mission of the Trust is to advance historic preservation in New Jersey for the benefit of future generations through education, stewardship and financial investment programs that save our heritage and strengthen our communities. DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including local government management and finance, affordable housing production, rental assistance, fire safety, building safety, community planning and development, disaster recovery and mitigation, and privacy protection.

DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including local government management and finance, affordable housing production, rental assistance, fire safety, building safety, community planning and development, disaster recovery and mitigation, and privacy protection.

For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on social media: