The History Channel awarded $250,000 in grants to 26 history organizations across the country in the 2005-2006 Save Our History National Grant cycle. Amongst these recipients, three projects were awarded for their exceptional work.

We applaud the dedication and hard work that goes into these amazing projects!

$10,000 Save Our History Lowe's Community Award

The Acadian Memorial Foundation, Inc., working with Catholic High School, Cecilia Junior High School, Paul Breaux Middle School

St. Martinville, Louisiana

"Let the Children Speak!" - Middle and High School students researched the lives of the Acadian children who arrived in Louisiana after being forced from their farms in Nova Scotia by the English in 1755. From the 3,000 Acadian refugees who settled in Louisiana, 1,497 of them were children, many of whom were orphaned. Students worked with primary and secondary documents and with docents from the Acadian Memorial Foundation to gather historical facts about the culture and history of the Acadian settlers. From these facts, children developed stories about the lives of actual children listed on the "Wall of Names" within the Foundation. The best stories are being developed into scripts, recorded in both French and English by the students, and incorporated into the Audio Interactive program at the Memorial.

$10,000 Save Our History Time Warner Preservation Award

Galveston County Historical Commission, working with the La Marque Independent School District Galveston, Texas

"Save Our Settlement" - The Galveston County Historical Commission partnered with 3,000elementary, middle, and high school students representing the entire La Marque Independent School District to explore the contribution of African Americans to the development of Galveston County, explore African American heritage over generations, and help re-establish the forgotten history of "The Settlement." The Settlement was a self-sufficient African American community settled between 1870 and 1880 by a pioneer group of Chisholm Trail Black Cowboys and their families. Students worked with preservationists to survey the historic community, clean up the Frank Bell Sr. home and preserve the artifacts found in the 100 year old structure, and prepare applications for Texas Historical Markers to memorialize the lost community. High school and elementary school students worked together to conduct oral histories with community members and alumni of the local segregated African American schools. The oral interviews were filmed and will be transcribed and placed in an archive at the Lincoln Auditorium along with the artifacts discovered at the Frank Bell home.

$10,000 Save Our History Classroom Award

City of San Buenaventura Community Services Department, Cultural Affairs Division, working with Anacapa Middle School

Ventura, California

"Project Adobe Mud-Slingers" - 30 8th grade students visited, learned about, and preserved a house wall of the Olivas Adobe, one of the few remaining Monterey Style adobes from the Gold Rush era. The adobe is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a California State Historic Landmark. Before beginning their project, students walked around the outside of the house, learning about signs of deterioration and its causes. After a demonstration in adobe wall patching and mud plastering, students worked in small groups under the supervision of a historic architect, a historic preservation specialist, and city maintenance staff to mix and apply much-needed adobe mud plaster to a wall on the front of the home that had substantial water damage. Students then participated in a lecture and slide show where they learned more about adobe damage and restoration. Finally, docents from the Olivas Adobe guided the students through a special historical tour of the Olivas Adobe. At the end of their labors, students felt a real connection with the site and pride in their role in its history. The Olivas Adobe serves as an excellent vehicle to teach a diverse student population about rancho life and the California families who settled in what is now California.

2005/2006 Grant Recipients

• Conner Prairie, Fishers, IN: 20 high school students will partner with staff from Connor Prairie to research the history and writings of Charles Christopher Trowbridge.

• Chemung County Historical Society, Elmira, NY: The Chemung County Historical Society, in partnership with Horseheads High School, will work to expand the efforts of preserving the battle site of one of the most important battles of the Revolutionary War, The Battle of Newtown.

• New Mexico Office of The State Historian, Santa Fe, NM: The New Mexico Office of the State Historian and the Santa Fe Opera will collaborate with a class of approximately 25 eighth grade students at Alameda Middle School on student-produced opera about the Casa Solana neighborhood.

• Acadian Memorial Foundation, Inc., St., Martinville, LA: Middle and High School students will research the lives of the Acadian children who arrived in Louisiana after being forced from their farms in Nova Scotia by the English in 1755.

• Illick's Mill Partnership, Bethlehem, PA: 
  
  Students will collaborate with the Illick's Mill Partnership to restore the stone work on 1-2 walls of Mill's exterior.

• Drexel University College of Medicine Archives, Philadelphia, PA: 25 10th grade students will partner with archivists from the Drexel University College of Medicine Archives to learn about and help preserve the history of women physicians in Philadelphia.

• Native Village of Eyak, Cordova, AK: The Native Village of Eyak, in conjunction with 50 students, will build a traditional Umiak and take it through the traditional summer hunting route - more than one hundred miles round-trip.

• Cambodian American Heritage Museum, Chicago, IL: High School students will be guided by the Cambodian American Heritage Museum and the Albany Theater Project in documenting the history of Cambodian families in Albany Park, which is the largest concentration of Cambodians in Chicago.

• Atchison County Historical Society, Inc., Atchison, KS: The Atchison County Historical Society will partner with middle school students and 15 Girl Scouts to preserve the African American community in Atchison by creating an Archive at the Lincoln School, which was the last segregated school in the community.

• City of San Buenaventura Community Services Department, Ventura, CA: 30 8th grade students will visit, learn about, and help preserve the perimeter walls of the Olivas Adobe, one of the few remaining Monterey Style adobes from the Gold Rush era.

• McMinn County Living Heritage Museum, Athens, TN: Students will collaborate with the McMinn County Living Heritage Museum to conduct an oral history of the Battle of Athens.

• Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Minneapolis, MN: Students will collaborate with the MPRB to excavate the historic Cataract Mill site at Mill Ruins Park.

• Catoctin Center for Regional Studies, Frederick, MD: This project will explore historic sites in Maryland that are related to the African American experience during the Civil War.

• Alstead Historical Society, Alstead, NH: Elementary, Middle, and High School Students will capture the story of the 2005 Alstead Flood, which was the greatest catastrophe in Alstead's 250 year history.

• Galveston County Historical Commission, Galveston, TX: The Galveston County Historical Commission will partner with 3,000 elementary, middle, and high school students representing the entire La Marque Independent School District to explore the contribution of African Americans to the development of Galveston, explore African American heritage over generations, and help re-establish the forgotten history of "The Settlement."

• Historic Denver/Molly Brown House Museum, Denver, CO: Approximately 120 students, ranging from 3rd through 12th grade, will partner with Historic Denver and the Molly Brown House on a project designed to engage students in an on-going citywide effort to revitalize and restore one of Denver's most significant streets, Colfax Avenue.

• Augusta Canal National Heritage Area, Augusta, GA: Elementary and High School students will research the century-old celebration of the "Fantastics" 4th of July parade tradition in Augusta.

• Carroll Park Foundation, Inc., Baltimore, MD: High School students will work with the Carroll Park Foundation to restore and preserve an 18th century historic orchard within Carroll's Hundred.

• Museum of Cultural Arts Houston, Houston, TX: Students in 11th and 12th grade at Phyllis Wheatley will work with MOCAH to develop a public mural documenting the history of the Fifth Ward - one of Houston's oldest and most historic African-American communities.

• Coop Historical Concepts, Las Vegas, NV: Coop Historical Concepts, partnering with 75 Palo Verde High School students will rehabilitate and restore the historic trail which runs through the Spring Mountain Ranch. Los Angeles Police Historical Society Museum & Community Education Center, Los Angeles, CA: Tenth through twelfth graders from the police magnet program at Woodrow Wilson High School will assist the LAPD Historical Society Museum to organize, digitize, preserve and display their collection of photographs and negatives dating from the 1800's.

• Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Miami, FL: Second through sixth graders at Liberty City Elementary School will partner with the Historical Museum of Southern Florida to conduct an investigation into the history and culture of their community.

• Belle Meade Plantation, Nashville, TN: Fourth grade students will research documents, participate in field trips, and conduct oral histories to create a documentary and timeline tracing the history of the National Historic Landmark community of Buena Vista, over the years of 1805 - 2005.

• The Green-Wood Historic Fund, Brooklyn, NY: In order to promote the rich history of Green-Wood Heights in Brooklyn, three fourth grade classes will gather information from census and local government data to help them construct a topographical map of the neighborhood, as it looked in 1776, the year The Battle of Brooklyn took place.

• Arizona Jewish Historical Society, Phoenix, AZ: "The Cornerstone Project" is part of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society's plan to restore Phoenix's first Jewish synagogue, the historic Temple Beth Israel, as a public museum and Jewish heritage center, named the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center.

• N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, Office of Archives and History, Raleigh, NC: Students will conduct research, working with the State Archives' original documents, to create a script and student-produced video reenactment of the events leading up to the theft of the North Carolina Bill of Rights.