(Diamond, MO) – Work is underway by the National Park Service (NPS) to repair, rehabilitate, and stabilize 400 linear feet of historic rock wall around the Carver Family Cemetery at George Washington Carver National Monument. The $272,000 project is financed by the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) Legacy Restoration Fund. Work is expected to be completed by the end of July.
The restoration is being performed by masons from the NPS Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC). They are assisted by Youth Historic Stewards members provided through a partnership with Conservation Legacy who are being mentored in trade skills by NPS staff.
HPTC plays a crucial role in tackling deferred maintenance and repairs in national parks, including projects funded by GAOA. Supported by revenue from energy development, GAOA provides up to $1.3 billion per year for five years to make significant enhancements in national parks to ensure their preservation and provide opportunities for recreation, education, and enjoyment for current and future visitors.
The repairs on these historic walls at George Washington Carver, funded through the Great American Outdoors Act Maintenance Action Team project, demonstrate how this historic investment is critical to parks of all sizes. Being able to bring in these skilled masons and members of Conservation Legacy provide needed capacity for the park and helps ensure these important features remain for park visitors to experience.
Administered by the National Park Service, George Washington Carver National Monument was established to preserve the birthplace and childhood home of George Washington Carver. Born enslaved on the Moses and Susan Carver farm about 1864, George Washington is revered today as an agricultural scientist who came up with hundreds of uses for the peanut, sweet potato, and soybean. He is remembered as an outstanding educator at Tuskegee Institute, a humanitarian who served others with his scientific work, and a proactive voice for racial understanding.
The Carver Family Cemetery includes the graves of Moses and Susan Carver, other Carver family members, and neighbors from the Diamond Grove community. According to George Washington Carver, two of his sisters may also be buried in the cemetery, while George is buried on the campus of Tuskegee University in Alabama.
About George Washington Carver National Monument:
Administered by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior, George Washington Carver National Monument preserves the birthplace and childhood home of George Washington Carver, scientist, educator, and humanitarian. Please call the park at 417.325.4151 between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm for further information. Visit our website at www.nps.gov/gwca and Facebook page. The park is located two miles west of Diamond, Missouri, on Highway V, then south ¼ mile on Carver Road.
About the National Park Service:
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for the 423 parks in the National Park System and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.
Reference:
James Heaney, Superintendent
George Washington Carver National Monument
417.325.4151
Be the first to comment