Saint Augustine's University Chapel Receives $300,000 National Park Service Grant
By Saint Augustine's University
Saint Augustine’s University (SAU) received a $300,000 grant to support projects that preserve significant historic structures on the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The grant will be used for the preservation of the University’s Chapel. SAU is one of 18 HBCUs receiving grants, totaling $8.6 million in grant funding.
“The University is extremely grateful for the National Park Service grant, which allows us to preserve the original stained-glass windows, the pews and other aspects of this historic place of worship,” said university Chaplain the Reverend Nita Byrd. ”As one of Raleigh’s spiritual anchors, Saint Augustine’s Chapel has provided students and the community a space for inspiration and strength for over 120 years. The grant from the National Park Service will help to preserve a legacy of strength, established by students when they built the chapel in 1895.”
Historically Black Colleges and Universities Grants support the preservation of sites on HBCU campuses that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Eligible projects include pre- preservation studies, architectural plans and specifications, historic structure reports, and the repair and rehabilitation of historic properties according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
“On behalf of our alumni, students, faculty and staff, we would like to thank the parks service for awarding the university this grant,” said University president Dr. Everett B. Ward. “The chapel symbolizes the institution’s rich history and serves as a refuge to profess our faith, hope and sense of community. This grant ensures us that we will be able to make improvements critical for the upkeep of such an important part of the university’s and community’s legacy.”
Congress appropriates funding for the HBCU grant program through the Historic Preservation Fund. The Fund uses revenue from federal oil leases on the Outer Continental Shelf to that provides assistance for a broad range of preservation projects, while not using taxpayer dollars.
About Saint Augustine’s University Chapel
The chapel was built on the campus in 1895, with the support of the Episcopal Church. It is one of the oldest buildings on the campus of SAU and is designated as a Raleigh Historic Landmark. Alumnus, Henry Beard Delany, the first African-American elected Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, was also a teacher of carpentry and masonry at Saint Augustine’s. Bishop Delany’s carpentry and masonry students were required to construct the chapel. The stones used for the construction of the chapel were quarried from the campus, by the students. On Tuesday, October 11, 1897, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, the Right Reverend J.B. Cheshire, consecrated the chapel. The chapel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
