UA Cossatot received a grant of $336,000 from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council (ANCRC) at its meeting held on Wednesday, June 3rd. The grant will be used for Phase 1 of restoring the old Lockesburg Middle School on the Lockesburg Campus of UA Cossatot.
The council distributed $27.3 million to 23 projects that will restore and protect state-owned lands and property.
According to UA Cossatot Chancellor Dr. Steve Cole, this will be huge for education and historic preservation, “Since 2017 we have been working diligently with the ANCRC and Arkansas Historic Preservation to rehabilitate and use all of the buildings on the old Lockesburg High School Campus. This most recent grant will allow us to start restoring the middle school. When we finish phase 1, we will have two new classrooms, a large community room, and, most importantly, a museum to house and protect historical items from Lockesburg High School”.
UA Cossatot is also filing an application to Arkansas Historic Preservation to turn the entire old Lockesburg Campus into a historic district according to Cole, “Since we already have the gym on the National Register and have applied for the high school, it just makes more sense to have the entire campus as a historic district with all the buildings, including the old 100 year old jail listed as contributing buildings”.
The planned museum will house all of the old LHS memorabilia UA Cossatot currently possesses plus will always be open to the community members to donate more. “We have this wonderful opportunity to protect over 120 years of memories and will be asking anyone with old LHS memorabilia to contact Barry Reed at breed@cccua.edu”, added Cole.
As with any building owned by UA Cossatot, the UA Cossatot Foundation in the near future will be posting naming opportunities for the museum, community room, and the classrooms, hoping to raise enough funds to furnish the rooms and curate all of the historic pieces.
Cole expects phase 1 to be completed by next July, “We should meet our goal of completing phase 1 by June 30th of 2021, and we fully expect to apply for phase 2 funding next March, which will completely finish the middle school restoration”.
Since 2013, UA Cossatot has invested more than one million dollars in grants, private donations, and college funds on the Lockesburg Campus, with a large portion of funds coming from the ANCRC.
Stacy Hurst, Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, who serves as Secretary of the ANCRC said, “The ANCRC Trust Fund has funded over $400 million in projects since its first grants were made in 1989. Many well-loved buildings and properties have been saved for future generations by the fund, and we are a better state for it.”
ANCRC has funded the restoration and preservation of such iconic properties as the Arkansas State Capitol, Old Main on the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Campus, Lakeport Plantation in Chicot County, and the Johnny Cash Home in Dyess.
The Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council (ANCRC) was established by Arkansas Act 729 of 1987. Its grants and trust fund are managed for the acquisition, management and stewardship of state-owned lands, or the preservation of state-owned historic sites, buildings, structures or objects which the ANCRC determines to be of value for recreation or conservation purposes. The properties are to be used, preserved, and conserved for the benefit of present and future generations.