Press release [Sept. 10, 2002A]

9-1693-4750

Georgia House of Representatives Public Information Office
Room 131, State Capitol 30334 404-656-5082 1-800-282-5800

For Immediate Release:

September 10, 2002

Smith Announces Historic Preservation Grant for Local Project

Atlanta Representative Lynn Smith, R-Newnan announced today that Coweta County has been selected from a field of more than forty applicants to receive a grant in the amount of $13,500, which will be used to restore the historic Powell Chapel Schoolhouse.

The money will come from the Georgia Heritage Grant Program, which is administered by the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and seeks to encourage counties and cities to preserve Georgia's rich heritage.

The Powell Chapel Schoolhouse was constructed in 1937 to educate African American children. The African American Alliance of the Newnan-Coweta Historical Society plans to restore the one-story, rectangular, wooden school as a museum dedicated to the interpretation of 1930's African American school life. The funds will be used to stabilize the exterior of the building.

"I was glad to see we were able to get this money," said Rep. Smith. "Out of roughly 40 statewide requests, only around 20 were approved, so this is great. The Powell Chapel Schoolhouse is a part of our rich and diverse heritage; a physical link to our past. I look forward to this project's completion so that this historic facility may serve as a bridge between our past, and Georgia's collective future."
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For further information contact Rep. Smith @ 404-656-7859